Brooklyn Nets Drop Seventh Straight After Third Quarter Meltdown

147. 122. 84. Final. 105

The Brooklyn Nets extended their losing streak to seven games Sunday night at the Barclays Center. Brooklyn was blown out 122-105 by the DeMarcus Cousins-led Sacramento Kings.

The Brooklyn Nets were without Jeremy Lin and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson this game, as they are both recovering from injuries. There is no timetable for a return for either player.

The Nets got off to a good start, something that had been rare for them recently. Sean Kilpatrick ignited a 15-3 run, which put Brooklyn up eight early. Kilpatrick had nine points in the first quarter alone.

The lead dwindled a bit once the second unit checked in. DeMarcus Cousins dominated down low towards the tail-end of the first quarter, which cut the Nets lead to only four.

The game then became a tug-of-war early in the second, as the Kings were quick to close the gap. The Kings began to control the game, shooting an astounding 63 percent from the field at the eight-minute mark of the second. The Nets began giving veteran big man Luis Scola opportunities to establish a presence down low, which yielded poor results.

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Kilpatrick picked up right where he left off in the second quarter, quickly netting six more points to increase his point total to 15 points on the night. Brook Lopez tacked on a couple of three-pointers to give the Nets a small lead with two minutes to go in the first half.

Brooklyn would then go into halftime with the lead for the first time since November 12th. They led the Kings, 59-58, after the buzzer sounded at the end of the second quarter.

The game was still a back and forth affair early in the second half. After a couple of easy buckets from Kosta Koufos and a Rudy Gay three, Sacramento was suddenly in the midst of an 11-0 run. The Nets were quick to call a timeout after the Kings opened up an eight point lead.

Sacramento increased their field goal percentage to 53 percent by the midway point of the third quarter. They also shot a staggering 64 percent from behind the arc at that point in the game.

Cousins tacked on 17 points in the third quarter to contribute to the Kings’ growing lead. The big man’s scoring output in the third nearly matched the Nets’ total points scored in that period.

Brooklyn had another lackluster third quarter, falling behind 92-77 by the end of the period.

The Kings, largely led by Cousins at that point in the game, quickly pushed the margin to 20 points to open the fourth quarter. The game then got a bit physical as Matt Barnes was ejected for a flagrant foul on Kilpatrick. The aggressive nature of the game then seemed to light a fire under the Nets, as they cut the Sacramento lead to nine points before a timeout was called.

Yet, Brooklyn’s defensive deficiencies were on full display well into the fourth quarter, as their opponent shot above 50 percent from the field. This led to the Kings embarking on another run, which put them back up by 20. This was the seventh straight game in which the Nets’ defense has allowed over 110 points, something that has not been done in the team’s history since the late 80’s.

Cousins tallied 37 points on the night. Kilpatrick led the Nets with 22 points.

Next: Anthony Bennett Assigned to D-League

Brooklyn will face the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time this season Tuesday at the Barclays Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM EST.

More Questions Than Answers For Nets After Third Quarter Meltdown, Drop Seventh Straight

By Christian Milcos | Nov 27, 2016

The Brooklyn Nets extended their losing streak to seven games Sunday night at the Barclays Center. Brooklyn was blown out 122-105 by the DeMarcus Cousins-led Sacramento Kings.

More from Nothin' But Nets