Ben Simmons collected 15 rebounds but took just three shots as Brooklyn gave up a late lead to lose to Milwaukee and sink to 3-4.
The fit-again Australian guard's reluctance to attack the rim was again questioned in a 129-125 loss, Simmons' only points coming courtesy of a ferocious put-back dunk.
He otherwise patrolled the boards and offloaded possession, Cam Thomas (45 points) doing the heavy lifting against a stacked Bucks team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo (36 points, 12 rebounds) and recruit Damian Lillard (21 points, six rebounds, seven assists).
The hosts scored 12 straight points to lead 115-112 with five minutes left.
Simmons threw a perfect long-range assist to a wide-open Dorian Finney-Smith late in the fourth quarter but he was spooked out of his shot that would have tied the game by a looming Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks called the shots from then on to keep the Nets winless on their home court in three games this season.
Simmons is averaging more than 10 rebounds and six assists per game after overcoming a run of injuries that followed his dramatic move from Philadelphia last year.
But the 27-year-old is averaging just six points per game on as many attempts - less than half the quantity he took up while at his peak in his second and third seasons at the 76ers.
“We executed really well, we just missed the shots at the end,” Thomas said.
“This is game seven. We’ve got another one Wednesday (Thursday AEDT, against the Clippers). Flush this, and move onto Wednesday.”
Elsewhere Josh Green had six points, two rebounds and an assist and a steal in 20 minutes as Dallas beat Joe Ingles' Orlando 117-102.
Ingles (two points, five rebounds, three assists) was a team-high plus three in his 21 minutes on court.
Luka Doncic poured in 29 points and Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half as the visiting Mavericks improved to 6-1.
Josh Giddey had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists in Oklahoma's 126-117 defeat of Atlanta, Boomers teammate Patty Mills again unused on the Hawks bench for his new club.
Nikola Jokic (35 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists) led hosts Denver back from a 20-point deficit to beat Dyson Daniels' New Orleans, 134-116.
Daniels (nine points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block) filled the stat sheet and shot four-of-five from the field in 20 minutes of game time.
James Harden had 17 points in his Los Angeles Clippers debut, but his star-studded side fell to the New York Knicks 111-97.
And Joel Embiid scored 29 of his season-high 48 points in the third quarter as the 76ers rolled to their fifth-straight victory, 146-128 over the Washington Wizards.
