CHICAGO –- The Nets had their shot at what was unthinkable several weeks ago.

They were staring at a three-game winning streak and the tenth win that would have created an ability to avoid any reference to the worst team of all time. All the Nets had to do was play hard for 48 minutes, defend, take good shots and convert layups. Essentially, they had to do what they did to register their only winning streak of the season.

The Nets did none of those things last night in a 106-83 loss to the Bulls. All good things must come to an end.

“We did not come to play,” interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “We did not have the energy we had the past few games, the drive, the intensity. It showed in our legs. It showed in the layups we missed early. I’m disappointed

A shovel will go into the ground today in Brooklyn. It’s probably not the same one the Nets have used to bury themselves, though.

The Nets need that one because they continue to throw dirt on themselves.

This may sound crazy, but the Nets played a winnable game last night here against the Mavericks. It was winnable because Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t have been more invisible, winnable because the Nets were rolling early and led by as many 18 points.

But the Mavericks have too many other players, including someone named Jason Kidd, and they just weren’t going to have their 12-game winning streak end against the Nets. Instead, Dallas won for the 13th straight time, beating the Nets 96-87 last night.

If you break it down, it was similar to many of the Nets’ losses, including