For almost four quarters Saturday night, the Nets hardly missed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

But the new-look Nets collapsed down the stretch in a 101-98 loss to the 76ers that ended with Spencer Dinwiddie’s 3-point shot, which would have sent the game into overtime, coming just after the buzzer sounded.

Joel Embiid gave the Sixers the lead with a pair of free throws with five seconds left in regulation. Then, with a chance to put the Nets back up, Mikal Bridges — the key piece to the Durant trade and terrific for much of the night — missed a shot.

James Harden, booed by the sellout crowd at Barclays Center for much of the game, hit another two free throws with under a second left. That gave Philadelphia (36-19), which ended the game on a 14-2 run, a three-point lead, and the Nets (33-23) couldn’t get it to overtime.

Dinwiddie, whose 32-footer at the buzzer was ruled to have come just late, was asked about the fourth-quarter woes on offense.

“I think we had some looks we missed,” he said.

And he added that the disparity in free throws — 30-13 in favor of Philadelphia — got the best of the Nets.

“When we got in the paint and hit the ground, it was no calls or turnovers,’’ said Dinwiddie, who scored nine points on 2-for-10 shooting, 0-for-4 from 3-point range. “That might be the biggest benefit of being a superstar in this league: the 50-50 plays go your way. They’ve got two on that side and we’ve got zero over here.”

The Nets were trying to win their second straight game since Durant was traded to Phoenix to complete the dismantling of the roster that began when Irving was shipped to Dallas earlier last week.

“It’s the beginning chapter of a new era, really,’’ head coach Jacque Vaughn said before the game. “This group gets to tell their own story, really. That’s what we’re gonna allow them to do.”

For most of the night, it all worked.

Despite the interior dominance of Embiid, who finished with 37 points and 13 rebounds, and the offensive skill of Harden, who scored 29 points, the Nets were able to stay ahead of Philadelphia.

An off-balance Cam Thomas jumper put the Nets up 96-87 with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter, but they scored just two more points the rest of the way.

A Dinwiddie dunk made it 98-95 with 1:45 to go to snap a scoring drought that lasted over five minutes.

But Embiid scored again to get Philadelphia back within one and Dinwiddie missed a jumper.

After Harden missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, Dinwiddie lost the ball on a drive with 12 seconds to go on the clock. Embiid was fouled by Dinwiddie with 5.2 seconds left and hit both free throws to give the Sixers a 99-98 lead.

Harden was fouled and hit both free throws with under a second left to give Philadelphia a three-point lead, but Dinwiddie couldn’t get the shot up in time.

“It was great execution by our guys,’’ Vaughn said. “We got Mikal a look at the rim that didn’t go. Nic [Claxton] almost had a tip for that and then we executed at the end the shot was for Spencer.”

The day started with optimism at Barclays, with newcomers Bridges and Cam Johnson touting the team’s new lineup.

“It gives us a lot of versatility on both ends of the floor,’’ Vaughn said. “The picture is gonna be painted a little differently. It’s up to me to put it in the right frame.”

That includes a different style of play because the Nets have lost significant shot creation opportunities with Irving and Durant gone.

They have some time to figure it out and try to maintain their spot in the playoff race, a pursuit that began in earnest on Saturday.

They got 23 points from Bridges and 12 from Johnson, as well as 18 off the bench from Joe Harris, who matched a season-high with six 3-pointers.

“I told the group, ‘If we’re able to put ourselves in positions to defend that way on an every-night basis, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win every single game,’ ” Vaughn said.