NET NOTES
PHOENIX – Richard Jefferson returned from his sprained ankle and is working his way back into form. As Nets coach Lawrence Frank said, Jefferson “isn’t 100 percent, but he’s well enough to play.”
But Jefferson, who struggled in Portland Wednesday night, steadfastly refused to make excuses.
“I wasn’t very good. You can make excuses or you can just say I [stunk],” said Jefferson, who was called for a critical charge in the 100-97 loss to the Blazers, the Nets’ third straight defeat, fifth in eight games.
“It’s frustrating watching your team struggle from the sideline. It’s even more frustrating when you’re a part of it,” he said.
But Jefferson is close to being in regular form.
“My wind came a little quicker. I’m still not really in a rhythm. That’s just the way it is,” Jefferson said.
The setting was familiar, if not the result. The Nets were down three Wednesday, inbounding for a last shot. Vince Carter got the pass and launched. Unlike the game in Washington where Carter hit at the regulation horn thanks to a fortunate bounce (the ball died on the back iron) to set up a Nets’ OT romp, the ball bounced away this time.
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Nenad Krstic reports his right wrist, banged in Seattle, is sore but fine and no bother. What has plagued Krstic is foul trouble; he scored 16 points in 26 minutes at Seattle, and 18 points in 33 minutes at Portland, where he admitted fouls affected him. “I lost a bit of rhythm,” he said. “And the second foul in the first quarter, I lost a little rhythm. But . . . I need to get through.
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This is shaping up as a Thanksgiving week trip to forget for the Nets. Already, Seattle and Portland have completed two-game season-series sweeps. Now the Nets go to Phoenix, where they’ve lost 12 straight, not winning since Mar. 13, 1993. They finish in L.A., where Lakers are 46-18 against them all time.