Nets crushed by Wizards for third straight loss that comes with a silver lining

Maybe Brooklyn’s tank is still alive.

In a clash sure to have lottery implications, the shorthanded Nets lost 119-99 to Washington on Friday before a crowd of 16,486 at Capital One Arena.

After winning seven of 10, Brooklyn (10-22) has gone cold, losing three in a row.

They currently sit fifth in the lottery standings and are within a game and a half of the fourth-place Wizards, a clear silver lining in this loss.

Friday’s tilt underlined how one or two players can tilt a tanking result.

The Nets were without Michael Porter Jr., Egor Dëmin and Terance Mann on Thursday vs. Have Golden State.

A night later, Dëmin and Mann were back on the floor, but Porter was still ill and was added to the unavailable list by center Nic Claxton (personal reasons) and Cam Thomas.

Brooklyn fell to 0-6 without Porter, his outsized impact relevant to the decisions GM Sean Marks will have to make before the trade deadline.

The Bucks, Pistons and Clippers have all been reported as teams potentially interested in trading for Porter, but now Jake Fischer reported that Golden State has also had internal discussions about the Nets forward.

The Nets attack Craters without Porter. They trailed by 28 points, shooting just 39.5 percent overall and 6 of 29 from deep.

They were even outscored 28-20 after turnovers, undermining their own defensive efforts and allowing 51.1 percent shooting.

“I love the fight until the end, even towards the end. The boys never gave up. It is clear that we have to do many things better, starting with the defense. Do you see the numbers? That is not good,” said Jordi Fernández. “And then the turnovers, especially in transition. When you turn the ball over in transition, it’s like a four- to six-point swing. … I think those swings were big every time.”

Day’Ron Sharpe got his first start of the season for Claxton and had 14 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Mann, Ziaire Williams and rookie Drake Powell all had 14 as well.

“We know one thing: Day’Ron is going to play extremely hard,” said Fernández. “And from the minutes he’s played until about 30 minutes, your body has to adapt to that. So it’s a great opportunity for him… but be careful with that as well.”

Staten Island’s Justin Champagnie had a game-high 20 points and Alex Sarr added 19 points and five blocks for Washington.

But it’s CJ McCollum (17 points, six boards) and Khris Middleton who have helped turn the Wizards’ fortunes around as of late.

Washington opened the season 3-20, including 14 straight losses. But since then they are 6-4, with veterans McCollum and Middleton leading the way. The Wizards are 8-14 with Middleton and a horrible 1-10 without him.

McCollum had 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter as the Nets fell behind 37-24.

Brooklyn never rallied.

Dëmin had 10 points, eight rebounds, a steal and a block.

Nolan Traore had a rebounding game after being punished by Fernández, totaling 12 points and five assists (both career highs), two steals and two blocks. The French rookie used his speed and attacked the paint, eschewing stepback 3s.

“I never told him not to take 3s. I want him to make the right shot. I wanted to make the right play. He had five assists for two turnovers, which is a very good and efficient ratio,” Fernández said. “I liked the aggressiveness, he made winning plays at the rim defensively.”