Nets lose heartbreaker 127-125 to Trail Blazers

The Nets lost a heartbreaker 127-125 to the Trail Blazers in a matinee showdown Friday.

Damian Lillard (34), Jusef Nurkic (29) and CJ McCollum (26) combined to score 89 of the Trail Blazers' 127 points.

The Nets on the other hand showed an extremely balanced scoring attack. Brooklyn had eight players reach double figures. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 23 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson continued to produce with 17 points.

Dinwiddie and Hollis-Jefferson have undoubtably been the biggest surprises for Brooklyn this season. Dinwiddie is running the offense smoothly while shooting 42% from three and Hollis-Jefferson has immensely improved his offensive game thanks to a newly found touch on his mid-range jump shot.

The Nets outplayed Portland for the majority of the game, but could not finish down the stretch. Brooklyn led by as many as 11 in the first half and led by six with 2:20 remaining.

Portland rallied back and took a two-point lead with one minute remaining as Shabazz Napier drove to the basket and laid the ball in plus the foul on Spencer Dinwiddie in transition.

Dinwiddie had the answer as he rebounded his own miss and laid it in to tie the game at 123.

The next play proved to be the game changer. Damian Lillard found Jusef Nurkic rolling to the basket, but DeMarre Carroll came in and blocked the shot. Caris LeVert grabbed the rebound, but proceeded to be stripped by Nurkic who laid the ball in plus the foul.

Brooklyn had another chance down two with ten seconds left. Spencer Dinwiddie came off a Jarrett Allen screen and pulled up from three but missed short on the shot.

This loss must hurt a bit more for the Nets knowing that they were in control for most of the game. The Nets have lost 10 of their last 13 after starting out 3-2.

Brooklyn heads to Memphis on Sunday for the first of a three-game road trip that will feature the Grizzlies, Rockets and Mavericks.