The Brooklyn Nets have made a habit of blowing leads during a brutal 4-16 stretch. As a result of these last 20 games, the Nets have plummeted to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. Another instance of a blown lead came in Tuesday's 108-103 loss to the New York Knicks.

Up by nine points entering the fourth quarter, Jacque Vaughn's squad shot just 7-of-23 from the field (30.4 percent) and 3-of-13 from the perimeter (23.1 percent) in the final frame en route to another late-game meltdown. This marks the fourth time in Brooklyn's last seven games that they've blown a lead of nine-plus points in the final quarter of play.

The Nets have shuffled late-game lineups during that span in search of finding the answer to the big question, “How can they break the trend?”

“I think you try to have guys lean into performing under pressure. This is what we signed up for,” Vaughn said after Tuesday's loss. “You have to accept and lean into the fact that you're going to be in these situations again. You can back away from it. You can run away from it. You can try to hide from it, but I hope we have a group that wants to lean into it and step right through the door.

That's the only way we were gonna get on the other side. And so I look forward to more games like these. I thought our execution was better down the stretch than it was the other nights. And the next time we’re in a game like this, it’ll be better.”

Nets' recent fourth quarter struggles

Cam Johnson had a hilarious response as he and Nets teammate Mikal Bridges return to Phoenix.

While Vaughn insists with confidence that his team can perform under pressure, they've done anything but that over the last six weeks. The Nets' -20.2 net rating in the fourth quarter ranks dead last in the league during this abysmal 4-16 stretch, nearly eight points worse than the 29th-ranked team. Brooklyn is 1-8 in clutch games, which is defined as games within five points in the final five minutes of play, shooting 40.7 percent from the floor while allowing their opponents to shoot 52.5 percent.

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out the door, many questioned the new-look roster's ability to close out tight games entering this season. As expected, the Nets have struggled to find clutch production over their last 20 games.

Mikal Bridges has shot 11-of-23, 47.8 percent, on clutch field goals during that span. However, Cam Johnson (6-of-20 FG, 2-of-10 from three), Cam Thomas (2-of-12 FG, 2-of-10 from three), and Spencer Dinwiddie (3-of-8 FG, 2-of-6 from three) have combined to shoot 27.5 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from three.

No example of Brooklyn's star deficiency was more glaring than Sunday's monumental collapse in Los Angeles. Despite leading by 15 points entering the fourth, the Nets fell apart and allowed the Clippers, led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, to finish the game on a 22-0 run. This ended up being the largest run to close a game out in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97).

The Nets will fight to keep their recent late-game struggles from creeping into their heads when the lights get brighter down the stretch. However, that's easier said than done with the fourth-quarter collapses continuing to pile up.

“We’ve just got to stay together. That's the biggest thing; when teams make a run, make a push, we’ve just got to handle adversity a little bit better,” Bridges said. “We had it earlier in the year and won some games towards the end, but we've kind of lost that. It’s tough when you keep losing at the end. It puts your confidence down. So we just got to keep sticking together.

“We're going to be in those positions a lot. Just got to be ready.”