LOS ANGELES – In Byron Scott’s word, it was “terrible.”

And he was being kind when addressing the Nets’ free throw shooting.

“Our free throw shooting was terrible. I mean, bottom line,” Scott said after the Nets – five-point losers in their 99-94 defeat to the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals here last night – botched 11-of-26 attempts.

It was little consolation that they were 8-of-10 in the fourth quarter. Already, they had squandered too many chances.

“It was terrible. We’ve got to do a better job, obviously,” Scott said.

You could pick virtually anyone from the game and see where the free throw shooting failed.

In the second quarter, they were 1-of-6 – Richard Jefferson missed two on the first Nets’ possession and Anthony Johnson followed with 1-of-2.

“We just went to the line and missed,” said Lucious Harris, one of the few Nets who could look positively at his free throw performance, making three of his four. “It was the first game. Get nervous? Everybody does.”

So when the Nets look back at the tape, they can pretty much point to – among many other sins – their .577 free throw shooting as a culprit.

Prior to the Finals, the Nets had made 331-of-449 free throws, good for .737. During the regular season the Nets shot .735 from the line.

But last night, they were just terrible.