Bobcats too easy for Nets

THE NETS can’t get a break this season unless it’s their own bones and ligaments.

But all the bad luck and bad basketball could be worth it if they somehow win the Anthony Davis lottery. What started as a longshot to land this year’s top pick has become a real possibility coinciding with the Nets’ late-season nose-dive. Losses beget Ping-pong balls, and a greater chance to land the center from Kentucky.

The Nets (16-34), who own the fifthworst record in the league, snapped a five-game losing streak with a 102-89 victory over the lowly Bobcats in Newark, in a game in which Deron Williams tied a season-high with 14 assists but also picked up his fourth technical foul in the last four games.

The Nets traded their 2012 first-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Gerald Wallace, but protected it through the top three picks. According to multiple sources, the Nets — who will have roughly $8 million to work with this summer after renouncing the rights to Kris Humphries — will target power forwards Kevin Garnett (restricted) and Ersan Ilyasova (unrestricted) in free agency.

Ex-net Ryan Anderson (restricted) is the other top power forward available and would certainly be a welcomed upgrade — but Avery Johnson’s team wants a stronger rebounder to complement Brook Lopez.

Despite his efforts to put on a happy face, Williams has struggled with the late-season insignificance. He was ejected in Wednesday’s loss to the Wizards — his second ejection of both his season and career — and was upset Saturday after getting elbowed in the face by Corey Maggette in the third quarter. Williams, who scored 57 points in his previous game against the Bobcats (7-39), picked up the technical chasing down a confused Maggette.

“I would never try to intentionally hurt anybody on the court,” Maggette said. “It’s just not my M.O. I really didn’t know what he was talking about, but as a man, I apologize.”