PORTLAND, Ore. _ In yet another spirited effort by the Brooklyn Nets, they completely wiped out a 15-point second-quarter deficit before they reached halftime. But they relived their season-long recurring nightmare when they ran out of gas on the defensive end against the hot-shooting Trail Blazers in a 130-116 loss Saturday night at Moda Center.
The Nets trailed by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to 1211-114 on consecutive three-pointers by Jeremy Lin, the second with 2:31 left. But while they shot nearly as well as Portland (26-35), the Nets (10-51) couldn't get the stops they needed down the stretch.
C.J. McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 29 points and Portland got 23 off the bench from Al-Farouq Aminu, 19 from Damian Lillard, 18 from former St. John's star Maurice Harkless and 17 from Jusuf Nurkic. Portland shot 57 percent from the field, including a blazing 64 from three-point range (16-for-25)
Brook Lopez had 26 points for the Nets, who received 20 from Sean Kilpatrick and 18 from Lin in 21:31, his longest stint in five games since returning from a hamstring injury. Spencer Dinwiddie added 14 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Nets shot 52.3 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range (14-for-30).
