Los Angeles, CA (My Sportsbook) - The New Jersey Nets, off to one of the worst starts in NBA history, fired head coach Lawrence Frank prior to Sunday night's 106-87 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The defeat Sunday dropped the club to 0-17, tying the worst start in league history with the 1988-89 expansion Miami Heat and the LA Clippers in the lockout-shortened 1999 season.

Nets assistant coach Tom Barrise served as interim coach Sunday as the club searches for a permanent replacement.

"I want to thank Lawrence for his more than a decade of service to the Nets, first as an assistant coach and then as the head coach for the past six and a half seasons," Nets president Rod Thorn said. "Lawrence always approached every day with a passion for his craft that was infectious, and his dedication to the game as well as his work ethic are to be both admired and appreciated. I wish he and his family only the best of good fortune in the future."

Frank, who was the longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference, signed a multi-year extension with New Jersey following the 2006-07 season, the fourth straight year he led the club to the playoffs.

The Nets regressed to back-to-back 34-48 campaigns the past two seasons, however, as Frank's career record fell to 225-241.

Frank, who was 18-20 in four playoff appearances, was named the Nets' head coach on June 21 of 2004 after first being chosen as the interim head coach in January of that year.

The Teaneck, New Jersey native began his NBA coaching career with 13 consecutive wins, an NBA record for most victories in a row by a head coach to begin a coaching career.