The Nets were 1.3 seconds away from their 40th loss of the season Monday when Joe Johnson banked in a 3-pointer as time expired to defeat the Denver Nuggets. The thrill of victory — a rare sight inside Barclays Center this season — sent the owner Mikhail D. Prokhorov (also a rarity inside the arena) out of his luxury-box seat, arms extended high in the air as he hollered and celebrated.
Entering the All-Star break, the Nets have been one of the N.B.A.’s most anonymous teams, and one of its worst. For a rebuilding franchise, it is hard to decide which is unhealthier — the lack of identity or the 14-40 record after Wednesday’s 109-90 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.