New Jersey Nets

Now, they really are threatening the worst start ever.

At 0-13, the Nets head to the West Coast for their annual Thanksgiving Week trip that features stops at Denver, Portland, Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers. On paper, the most winnable game is Sacramento, but the Kings are 4-2 at home. The trip starts Tuesday in Denver.

Should the Nets extend their winless misery throughout the trip, they would be 0-17, which would tie the worst streak ever to start a season, a dubious mark jointly held by the Heat in their inaugural season of 1988-89 and the Clippers in lockout-shortened 1998-99.

When they return, they would face Dallas and former Net Jason Kidd, who likely would love to extend his old team's misery.

Despite the stunning adversity, which includes 70 manpower games lost to injury, illness or personal reasons through 13 games, embattled coach Lawrence Frank, who is fighting for his coaching life in an almost impossible situation, refuses to makes excuses or wallow in self-pity. He defends his overmatched, hard-playing team.

"No one cares, or should they, but I feel sorry for our guys because the blemish that comes with (being winless) and why it's a story, it's eight guys who truly have worked their tails off," Frank said. "If they were coming in (not caring) in practice or not focused at shootaround, then I'd say there's not much hope. But they're not. They work every single day. These guys care. ... I'll take 100 percent responsibility for where we're at."

KNICKS 98, NETS 91: The Nets all-losing start continued through 13 games as not even the return of Devin Harris could save them on their home floor. The Knicks' pick-and-roll game and foul trouble on center Brook Lopez contributed to making the Nets the ninth team in league history to lose their first 13 games. Lopez finished with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 24 points, and Harris had 12 points and seven assists in his first game since Oct. 30.

• With their 98-91 defeat to the Knicks on Saturday, the Nets became the ninth NBA team to start a season with as many as 13 losses and the first since the Grizzlies in 2002-03. The record for the most defeats to start a season is 17, jointly held by the Heat of 1988-89 and the Clippers on 1998-99. Theoretically, the Nets could tie the record on their upcoming trip, then break it in their first game back home on Dec. 2.

  "At this point, we can't even look that far ahead," center Brook Lopez said after the defeat to the Knicks. "We just really wanted to pick up one (win), and we didn't do that."

• The Nets are trying to get whole again, but it is a slow and arduous task. Devin Harris returned Saturday after missing 10 games with a strained groin, but the Nets still are missing six players, including two starters, forward Yi Jianlian and guard Courtney Lee. Also among the missing is Jarvis Hayes, who was the Nets' best bench player last season.

  And while the immediate future still looks grim, Harris provides an element of hope.

  "He played well, really well. He got us moving on offense, got us going up and down the floor, he was finding the corner man a lot," teammate Josh Boone offered about Harris. "He's always been a good passer, always a good feel for where everybody on the court is."

  But the Nets are not expecting too much too soon.

  "For the time he's missed, I thought he gave great effort and made some great hustle plays. He gave us a paint attacker," said coach Lawrence Frank. "It's going to take a couple of weeks for him to get his conditioning, and we're going to have to play him in short stretches, but I thought he did a very good job."

Quote To Note:

"This is my first time ever being in a position like this. It's brand new to me. … It definitely weighs on you."

The lineup has been changing game-to-game, based on availability of players and matchups. The most recent:

Rotation:

Starters—Point guard Rafer Alston, Shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, Small forward Trenton Hassell, Power forward Josh Boone, Center Brook Lopez. Bench—Guard Devin Harris, Forward Terrence Williams, Forward Bobby Simmons, Center Sean Williams.

Player Notes:

• C Brook Lopez admittedly became passive Saturday when he got into foul trouble against the Knicks. Still, Lopez finished with his fifth double-double of the season, which ranked second among second-season players. "There were some offensive rebounds I wanted to go after but I could only tap at," Lopez said.

• G Devin Harris returned Saturday from a right groin strain that kept him out of 10 games. In his first action since Oct. 30, Harris played 26 minutes, scored 12 points and passed for seven assists off the bench in the Nets' 98-91 loss to the Knicks. "I feel great. I did everything I wanted to do. I got to the rim. I wanted to control the pace as much as I could," Harris said. "Other than trying to get my legs back, I feel good."

• G Rafer Alston had seen extended playing time in Devin Harris' absence at point guard, and the veteran may finally have begun wearing down after averaging career-high minutes. Alston shot 1-for-7 Saturday—when Harris returned—but that gave him a three-game total of 4-for-29.

Medical Watch:

• F Eduardo Najera is out indefinitely with a sore lower back. He missed his third consecutive game on Nov. 21.

• G Courtney Lee remains day-to-day with a strained groin. He missed his seventh consecutive game Nov. 21 but hopes to play Nov. 24.

• F Yi Jianlian is out with a sprained right knee. He will miss several more weeks.

• F Jarvis Hayes remains out indefinitely since straining his hamstring in the season opener.

• G Keyon Dooling (hip surgery rehab) underwent an arthroscopic procedure after last season. His return has been delayed until early December.

• F/C Tony Battie could return during the Nets' Thanksgiving Week road trip. He has been out since preseason with a sore right knee.