AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -– Jarvis Hayes’ left leg was wrapped in ice as he limped toward the locker room. Moments later, Devin Harris walked in with his left shoulder taped heavily, unable to lift his arm without feeling pain.

The Nets didn’t just fall at the end of last night’s game. They literally fell apart, losing Hayes, Harris and Chris Douglas-Roberts to injury.

The health of Harris and Hayes was of more concern than the 99-92 loss to the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Both men said it could have been a lot worse -– and they thought it was a lot worse -– so there was more relief than disappointment for another hard-fought loss.

Make that six in a row that the Nets had a chance to get if only they executed and hit shots down the stretch. They missed nine of their last 11 after taking a one-point fourth-quarter lead on Detroit.

Yet the Nets weren’t kicking themselves after this one like a few of the others in the last week -– Washington, Philadelphia, Detroit at the Meadowlands. There also wasn’t a somber feeling in the locker room, in part because the Nets are playing hard every night now.

The fact that Harris and Hayes walked into the room on their own strength and left that way, too, also helped matters. They survived a scary moment with about 30 seconds left in this one, colliding at midcourt while chasing a loose ball. The hit sent them both to the floor and in need of help.

Hayes looked to be worse. He was clutching his lower left leg. Harris was holding his left shoulder. They both got up around the same time and were assisted off the floor and into an X-ray room. Both turned up negative. Harris has a sprained left shoulder and Hayes a bruised lower left leg.

“They were negative so that’s good,” Hayes said. “Just bruised real bad.”

“I don’t think it’s bad as it could be,” Harris said.

Harris was talking about his shoulder, not the Nets’ season. It’s hard to imagine their season getting worse, but anything is possible.

There are still 32 games left, plenty of time for the Nets to learn finally how to turn all of these close games into some wins. But there’s also plenty of time for them to regress. And the one fear around the team is how they would survive a significant injury to a key player. Not that the Nets are going to make the playoffs, but they badly want to avoid the all-time mark for losses in a season (73).

There’s a good chance they could get there at full strength. If a key player is out for an extended time, it’s almost a lock it will happen. This was the Nets’ 46th loss, and the Cavaliers are their next opponent. If they don’t get No. 47 on Tuesday, it would be a stunner.

After what we’ve seen the last seven games, it’s easy to predict the Nets will play hard, but it’s hard to know who will be available for that game. Harris and Hayes will receive treatment for the next couple of days, and the good thing is that they have just one game after Cleveland before All-Star Weekend. So regardless of whether they play in one or both, they will get plenty of rest of after that.

If ever a team needed to refresh physically and mentally, it’s the Nets, owners of 46 losses and counting.

Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)