The Nets were determined to make sure they wouldn’t own or share the worst record in NBA history. Their desire and belief paid off last night against an unlikely foe.

Most people penciled in this game against the Spurs as another Nets’ loss, meaning the Suns on Wednesday, or maybe the Hornets on Saturday, but more than likely the Wizards on Sunday, would be the game win No. 10 was reached.

But the Nets didn’t want to wait and put more pressure on themselves. They got the Spurs on a night they were ripe for the taking and played a terrific fourth quarter on both ends to nab a 90-84 victory that enabled the Nets to show their faces in public again.

No longer will the Nets be mentioned as the worst team in NBA history, although one of the worst, record-wise, will follow

The Nets are doing something never thought possible when they were 0-18. They’re getting worse.

They’re much healthier than they were when they were losing every night earlier this season and they’re worse now. That’s not an easy thing to do.

They returned early this morning from the West Coast just totally beaten, believing there is no hope in sight and honestly there is no reason for hope. You know the numbers: 40 losses in 43 games. Even more distressing is how far they have fallen, how much they have regressed not only since Dec. 30, but since Lawrence Frank was replaced after 16 games.

But here's looking at a small sample of games before we go big picture. Over the four-game trip, the Nets allowed the opposition to shoot 55.4 percent and average 112.8 points

The Nets were being crushed by 36 points Wednesday night when Devin Harris did something it never should have taken almost 40 games to do. He went off.

What took so long?

The way the season has gone for the Nets it’s surprising more players haven’t lost their cool and there aren’t more holes in the locker room walls, or broken dry erase boards or urinals lying on the floor.

No one is condoning destroying public property - certainly not me. Every person and player has a different way to show his frustration, but it’s good that someone has gotten emotional. A general malaise as the Nets often have shown can be mistaken for them not caring.

It is a tough situation – the losing, the fact that the organization has made moves and will continue to make moves with

The situations are similar. The Oklahoma City Thunder were about to be sold, about to be moved and dumped players and salaries and tried to build through the draft, trades and free agency.

Sound familiar?

Now, they have had some major growing pains, but look at where they are now. In Kevin Durant’s third NBA season the Thunder have an opportunity to make the playoffs in the tougher Western Conference.

It helps, of course, when you have a player of Durant’s stature and talent. You can tell he wants to be great. He’s worked at getting bigger and stronger. He’s playing better defense, rebounding the ball better and making his teammates around him better.

Just a year ago, the Thunder were 3-28 after 31 games. The 2-29 Nets are just one game worse. Today, the Thunder

There is nothing like a Nets-Timberwolves game as a little pre-Christmas appetizer. Too bad this isn’t 2000 when there was something to the game with Stephon Marbury going against his old team or 2003 or 2004 when both teams were good.

Instead, tomorrow the NBA’s two worst teams square off in what could be called the John Wall Bowl. Wall is the Kentucky guard everyone is projecting as the first overall pick, presuming he comes out, and someone the Nets would love to have.

You might say the Wolves don’t need any more point guards since that’s all they drafted and acquired over the summer, but you never know what they’re going to do. Timberwolves president David Kahn believes in acquiring assets

The one thing we know is this game has significance on many levels.

The Nets had one of their longer practices since the new regime took over. Kiki Vandeweghe said it was his first real practice with the Nets.

You certainly could look at it that way, since he had just about everyone take part except for Chris Douglas-Roberts, whose sprained right ankle kept him hobbled, and Eduardo Najera. Yi Jianlian was out there and Jarvis Hayes, too.

Slowly but surely, it seems the Nets are getting their regular players back. You can’t be entirely sure because it seems every time someone is about to return, someone else gets hurt.

But barring more setbacks or injuries, you’re looking at the possibility -– possibility -– that the Nets will have 15 players available for Saturday’s game against the Rockets or maybe Dec. 28 against Oklahoma

ATLANTA -- The game got away from the Nets late in the second period but in essence it happened during the opening tap.

The way the Nets are constructed they have to play near-perfect basketball to beat playoff teams, especially contending ones like the Hawks. The Nets were dismantled by the Pacers on Friday and they will be in the draft lottery.

Even if the Nets were fully healthy, they probably would struggle against most teams, and definitely the one they played against Sunday. The Hawks made it look easy despite not having starter and defense stretcher Marvin Williams.

It didn’t matter. The Hawks still had too much, still had guys to stretch the defense and bodies to control the boards inside.

The Nets racked up a season high in points, but it didn’t matter because they

The Nets followed their terrible performance against Golden State with an even worse one against the Pacers.

And that’s not their biggest problem.

Devin Harris left the game with what he thought was a broken pinky and was relieved to find out it was only sprained. Still, he couldn’t finish their 107-91 loss to the Danny Granger-less Pacers.

And that’s not the Nets’ biggest problem.

It’s what Harris said after the game, unsolicited and matter of fact. He never raised his voice, stayed calm and even was in a good mood. But it was big enough and serious enough for him to offer it up without provocation.

“We’re a little divided as a team right now,” he said.

Not shocking. They’re 2-21 after all. The surprising thing is that no one

Yi Jianlian’s NBA career isn’t going is he hoped, and his Nets’ career isn’t going how anyone hoped.

The Nets knew they were taking a risk in trading productive and popular Richard Jefferson for the unproven Yi, and with each injury he suffers, the trade looks worse and worse. He suffered a busted lip Saturday and could miss up to two weeks.

With each injury, you can continue to question why the Nets included Ryan Anderson in the deal involving Vince Carter or didn't draft Tyler Hansbrough, though he suffered an injury, too.

Yi’s injuries and the questions about the moves seem like they will be ongoing things. We know why Anderson had to be involved; Orlando wouldn’t have done the deal otherwise. The Nets were high on Hansbrough, but felt Terrence