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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey : The New Jersey Nets continued to slide toward the NBA record of 17 straight defeats to start a season on Saturday, dropping their 13th straight to the New York Knicks.
Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points apiece as the struggling Knicks took advantage of their meeting with the even worse Nets to nab their second straight victory - 98-91.
The Nets will be up against it as they try to avoid the record worst 0-17 start set by Miami in their inaugural 1988-89 season and matched by the Los Angeles Clippers in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season.
The face a four-game Western road trip that starts with games at Denver and Portland and finishes against the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers.
"I've never been in a situation like this," Nets guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "I really can't describe the feeling I have right now. I take every loss very hard, but this many losses without a win, I really don't know what to feel. I don't know where I'm at right now. Mentally, it's tough."
Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points and Brook Lopez had 18 points and 12 rebounds for New Jersey, who shot only 4 of 18 from three-point range and barely broke 90 points against a Knicks team that is one of the worst defensively in the league.
Devin Harris returned for the Nets after missing 10 games with a groin strain and scored 12 points.
"It's frustrating all the way around and you can see it on guys' faces," Harris said of the losing streak.
The loss could put more pressure on Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who won his first 13 games after he was promoted in January 2004 but now owns a losing streak just as long.
"I think it would be tough on any coach, especially with all the injuries," Harris said. "It's tough to try to mix and match up what you have on the floor. I thought he's done a great job of that and with some guys coming back ... we can start to cut down on some of these minutes so guys can be fresher for that fourth quarter."
- AFP /ls
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