SALT LAKE CITY — One possible historical timeline:
The Big Bang occurs and the universe expands . . . Homo sapiens evolve in Africa and walk erect . . . Columbus lands in the New World . . . the 2009-10 Nets win their third game . . . doctors cure the common cold . . . mankind colonizes Mars . . . the Nets win their fourth game.
No one knows when the Nets will win again. It certainly wasn’t last night, when the Jazz operated with clinical offensive precision and mauled the Devin Harris-less Nets, 116-83, handing them an 11th straight defeat — their most lopsided loss of the season for a second straight night — and dropping them to 3-40 on the season, tying them with the 1993-94 Mavericks for the worst start in NBA history.
Even the 1972-73 Sixers, who at 9-73 had the worst full-season record in league annals, were 4-39 after 43 games.
And even worse, the Nets see no hope in sight.
“Right now, no, I can’t, honestly,” Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re just in a very bad situation, so it’s hard to see the light right now.“
“It’s bad,” said Brook Lopez (14 points). “Tough to see positives.”
What the Nets saw last night was pure horror. The Jazz scored a season-high 70 points in the paint. The Jazz (25-18) hammered the Nets on the glass. The Jazz shot 61.1 percent for the game — that includes a mind-numbing 85.7 percent in the first quarter, when Utah led by as many as 19 and the Nets folded. The 33-point spread bettered by one the Nets’ 32-point loss at Golden State Friday. In 24 hours, the Nets lost two games by 65 combined points. Yeah, they were glad to see this trip end.
“This was the worst road trip of my life,” said Keyon Dooling, who started for Harris, matter-of-factly of the trip that saw losses by 11, 24, 32 and 33 points. “We got blown out every game. We weren’t competitive. We’re just not a very good team right now.”
The Jazz drove the lane at will, with no consequence. Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap scored 20 each. It could have been worse had they stayed in. Yi Jianlian led the Nets with 16.
“The loss of Devin probably hurt us badly, but it doesn’t excuse all the points in the paint, all the fast breaks, a lot of our turnovers and quick shots led to the fast breaks,” Vandeweghe said. “[70 points in the paint allowed], that’s not something that should ever happen.”
Another Net first.
Harris spent a day receiving ice and electrical stimulation on the right wrist and hand he injured, possibly sprained, on Friday. Even with all the treatment, he saw little progress.
“Not really, no,” Harris said when he was asked if the injury improved.
So how did he feel?
“Still pretty sore,” said Harris, who is scheduled to go for an MRI today.
He underwent X-rays Friday and they were negative. He hopes to play Wednesday when the Nets initiate a four-game homestand against the Clippers.
In the first quarter, Utah scored on 10 straight possessions and hit 12 straight shots (a couple of turnovers disrupted the run). But if the Jazz got up a shot, figure they scored. It was over early. Like the Nets’ season.
fred.kerber@nypost.com