New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez, right, drives against Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Oregon, Wednesday, November 25, 2009. (AP Photo)

PORTLAND, Oregon, November 25, 2009 (AFP) - Winless New Jersey staggered closer to the NBA's record of 17 losses in a row to start a season by dropping their 15th consecutive game, falling Wednesday to the Portland Trail Blazers 93-83.

Greg Oden scored 18 points and Brandon Roy added 13 to spark the Trail Blazers to their sixth win in a row and 10th in 12 games and continue the humiliation of the Nets, who wasted a 32-point performance from Brook Lopez.

The Nets are threatening the record worst winless start at 0-17 set by Miami in their inaugural 1988-89 season and matched by the Los Angeles Clippers in the strike-shortened 1998-99 campaign.

The Nets' next game will be Friday at Sacramento, which beat New York 111-97 on Wednesday, and their four-game western road swing concludes with a trip to the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers.

If the Nets don't win before they face Dallas at home next week, the Nets will be trying to avoid setting a new futility standard against the Mavericks.

The latest loss adds to the pressure on Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who won his first 13 games after he was promoted to the job in January 2004 but now owns a losing streak even longer.

Nets president Rod Thorn would not address the job status of Frank, the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference, even as he discussed the team's struggles before Wednesday's game.

"We're trying to do what we can to get better and hopefully it will happen," Thorn said. "The tough thing is the losing. Anything else is part of the job.

"I'm sure everybody is frustrated by it. I think he's handling it very well. He comes to work every day. He tries to get our guys better."