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Shorthanded after making a couple of deals before the NBA trade deadline, the Nets played red-hot Cleveland with just nine players.
And that skeleton crew gave up the ghost.
The Nets got hammered 118-95 before a crowd of 17,304 at Barclays Center, running out of steam in the third quarter as the game got away from them.
The Nets (20-31) were down just eight at intermission, but came out of the break and allowed the first 21 points of the second half.
Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), Cam Johnson (left adductor tightness), Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension), Lonnie Walker IV (left hamstring tightness) and Dariq Whitehead (shin stress reaction) were all out injured.
The Nets traded away Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O’Neale, and waived Harry Giles III as well as incoming Thaddeus Young and Jordan Goodwin, sources told The Post. Newcomers Dennis Schroder and Keita Bates-Diop weren’t yet available.
Schroder, the biggest incoming name, watched in street clothes. He saw an ugly one, the Nets trailing by as much as 31.
Mikal Bridges had 26 points, but got little help from his threadbare team. Donovan Mitchell led five Cavs in double figures with a game-high 27.
Down just 59-51 at the break, the Nets went scoreless for the next 5:21.
The Nets missed nine straight shots with a turnover.
Meanwhile, the Cavs — who have won 16 of their last 17 — came out on fire. They hit seven of their first eight shots. Former Nets center Jarrett Allen capped the run with a five-foot hook shot that made it 80-51.
Allen’s free throws pushing it to 84-53 with 6:10 left in the third.
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Jalen Wilson took advantage of the Nets’ shorthanded state to get his first NBA start.
“Just staying ready, staying ready. I think that’s been the message all year, having a good mindset about no matter how much playing time you get, just being ready for your opportunity,” Wilson said beforehand. “You never know when it’s gonna happen. [Thursday] we’ve only got nine guys, but we’ve still got to go out and compete and win the game, so I think that’s the biggest thing.”
“Lonnie has the potential to play on Saturday. Cam Johnson is ruled out for Saturday. … So we’ll see what Cam Johnson looks like next week. But Lonnie has the ability to possibly play on Saturday,” coach Jacque Vaughn said.
“No bodies still around [Sharpe]. He’s been more one-on-one with a coach, able to get up and down a little more since the last time I’ve updated [the press]. He is definitely out for Saturday as well and see what he looks like going towards next week before the break.”
Brooklyn acquired the draft rights to Serbian stash guard Vanja Marinkovic from Memphis.
Because they fit both Dennis Schroder and the (since waived) Thad Young into existing trade exceptions, they can create a new exception for $20.4 million.
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