The Brooklyn Nets are searching for a spark to break them out of a 3-14 rut over their last 17 games. Wednesday's loss to a 10-29 Portland Trail Blazers team without Shaedon Sharpe and DeAndre Ayton won't help.

The Nets led by nine points entering the fourth quarter, but as has been the case during their cold stretch, they collapsed late. Portland quickly pulled within one in the opening minutes of the final period. Brooklyn hung around, tying the game with five seconds remaining, only for Anfernee Simons to drain a game-winning floater on the other end, aided by a Nets miscommunication.

Portland is 2-7 in January, with both wins coming against Brooklyn. The Blazers' seven losses during that span have come by an average of 22.3 points, including a 62-point drubbing at Oklahoma City on Jan. 11, the fifth-worst loss in NBA history.

“They’ve been getting cooked, and then they come out against us, and they beat us twice. So it’s definitely disheartening,” Nic Claxton said. “But we’ve gotta just stick together. We can’t fall apart… I’m not going to sit here and lie and say that the vibes are immaculate. We definitely feel a way about taking all these losses.”

After leading by four with 1:48 remaining, the Nets' defensive deficiencies came to the surface. They allowed the Blazers to score on their final four possessions.

Coming out of a timeout with five seconds remaining, Mikal Bridges called for a double on Simons. However, Spencer Dinwiddie was late coming over, allowing the Blazers guard to easily drive the paint and drain the game-winner.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn and Dinwiddie both admitted the plan was to double Simons.

“I was late on the double-team and he got down into the lane and hit a floater,” Dinwiddie said.

However, Bridges did not allude to Dinwiddie's mistake when asked about the play.

“He just made a move, went left, and scored,” he said.

There may be no better example of the Nets' defensive deficiencies than their inability to get stops down the stretch of both losses against Portland. The Blazers rank dead last in the NBA in points, assists and effective field goal percentage this season.

“I have no clue,” Bridges replied when asked if the Nets need to make defensive changes. “We just all gotta figure it out.”

Jerami Grant led Portland with 30 points on 14-of-26 shooting. Simons chipped in 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Bridges led Brooklyn with 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting. Dinwiddie snapped out of a three-game funk during which he was averaging 3.3 points on 3-of-15 shooting. He scored 19 points in the loss, all of which came in the second half, on 5-of-8 shooting to go with seven assists.

The Nets rank 26th in offense and 22nd in defense during their 3-14 stretch. Things won't get any easier from a scheduling standpoint, with matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves on the horizon.

Despite the team's struggles and daunting schedule, Dinwiddie said Brooklyn can't afford to dwell on the past.

“If we get caught up in the sinking [feeling] then where else are we gonna go? All we can do is try to execute the gameplan, stay focused, pick up wins, and get back on track,” he said. “Obviously the league is what have you done for me lately, the last five games? All that type of stuff. It’s the way that everybody looks at this thing and feels about it.

“Everybody said Utah was some ass and then they went on an 11-2 win streak. If we were to go 5-0 we’d be the hottest team in the NBA. A lot of times things are great in that snapshot or in that vacuum. We’re only 40 games in, so we have another whole half of a season to play.”