The Net Result Is Few Points

Alonzo Mourning was the lone bright spot in a game that nearly set the NBA mark for scoring futility.

In his first start since his kidney transplant and his first since the 2001-02 season, Mourning scored 14 points and powered his way inside for two key late baskets to help the New Jersey Nets beat the Trail Blazers, 64-60, Tuesday night in what was almost the lowest scoring game in modern NBA history.

“It’s unbelievable because this guy keeps getting better and he was in a hospital bed with a kidney transplant 11 months ago,” Net Coach Lawrence Frank said.

The 124-point total was five off the previous record for combined scoring futility. Boston beat Milwaukee, 62-57, in a game at Providence, R.I., in 1955, the first year of the NBA’s 24-second shot clock.

If there was a highlight on a very bad night of basketball, it was Mourning. He also had 12 rebounds in his first start since his days with the Miami Heat. Mourning played a season-high 37 minutes, making five of 10 shots from the field. He also had three blocked shots.

He was more impressed with the Nets’ defense, which set the team record for fewest points given up. The old mark was 61 against Minnesota on Oct. 31, 2003.

“I don’t think we have the depth we need in order to outscore teams,” Mourning said. “We have the heart and ability to outwork teams.”

The teams needed more than 47 minutes to get past 119. Portland’s Zach Randolph got the honor of reaching the 120-point mark with a floater with 44.6 seconds to go to cut the Nets’ lead to 62-58.

“It started ugly and stayed ugly,” Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said.