Nets squander late leads in 2OT choke job

The Nets, mired in a losing skid, were already frustrated and lacking confidence. Wait until the aftermath of Friday’s gut-punch sinks in.

The Nets collapsed like a sinkhole in a 131-125 doubleovertime loss to the Grizzlies before 12,983 at Barclays Center. It was the Nets’ fifth straight loss, and though their end games have had more melodrama than a telenovela, it’ll be hard to top this one for chances wasted and opportunities squandered.

A 10-point cushion in the fourth quarter. A sevenpoint lead with half a minute in regulation flushed. A four-point edge in the first overtime. And ahead 125-124 midway through the second overtime, before going cold and conceding the last seven points.

Yeah, this one? This hurt more than most.

“Yeah, especially when you give it away like that. It’s something we’ve got to grow from. We can’t give teams that situation to punish us, just like they won’t give it to us,” said D’Angelo Russell, who had a team-high 26 points and gave the Nets a 125-124 lead with 2:49 left in the second OT. But he took their next four shots and missed them all as Memphis put the game away.

“Yeah, this one we really let slip,” said DeMarre Carroll, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds. “A lot of IQ plays down the stretch we didn’t focus and do.”

Oh, there were botched IQ plays aplenty by the Nets (8-15).

Sure, they let Mike Conley take over with a game-high 37 points and 10 assists, including all but one of Memphis’ 14 points in the second OT. And they coughed up 36 points to rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. But they lost on their own boneheaded plays.

“It definitely ain’t fun. We had the game won in regulation,” said Spencer Dinwiddie, who had 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“We miss shots, they make shots. Then sometimes like [Friday] we make dumb plays.”

The Nets had used a 14-0 run to take the lead in the fourth. They led by as much as 10, and 111-104 on Dinwiddie’s bank shot with 33 seconds left in regulation. But Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s illadvised foul on a Jackson 3 set up a rare four-point play, and Russell’s turnover on an inbounds — one of his six turnovers in the game — opened the door for the teenaged Memphis rookie’s game-tying 30-footer.

Dinwiddie drove with a second left and got blocked by Conley to force OT.

“We made bad plays, and I drove, and we know the story. Same [crap] as always,” Dinwiddie said. “It kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If in the minds for some of the people out there this one’s going a certain way — and they have the ability to control that — then it’s going to go that way.” It went that way again. Dinwiddie found Jarrett Allen (15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists) for a finger roll and 117-113 lead, but they gave up a Jackson hook shot and all-too-easy Conley floater with 9.9 seconds to go in OT. That should’ve been enough time for a good shot, but Dinwiddie lost the ball out of bounds. On to OT No. 2.

Russell’s reverse put the Nets up 125-124, but they missed their last six shots and never got to the line while putting Memphis (13-8) on the stripe six times.

“It’s a tough one,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’re not having a party in there. We’re sad. Missed opportunity, but we’ve got another game [Saturday]. We’ve got to bounce back.”

Joe Harris (adductor) missed Friday but hasn’t been ruled out of Saturday’s game in Washington.

“I’m not worried,” Atkinson said. “I’d say the term is precautionary. It’s a day-today thing. I think we’re erring on the side of caution.”