What was a first half of positives turned into a second half of regressing to the mean of what this team is without Jeremy Lin.

Until the fourth quarter happened.

After a 35-point first quarter and a 24-point second quarter, the Nets found themselves up at halftime for the first time since Nov. 12. The third quarter brought the familiar lag in Brooklyn’s play, though, with DeMarcus Cousins scoring the same amount as the Nets in the quarter (18).

Once the Nets went down by 20 points in the fourth quarter, it seemed like Brooklyn’s fate was sealed, until Matt Barnes was ejected from the game for a hard foul on Sean Kilpatrick. Brooklyn went on a 15-2 run to come within seven points of Sacramento.

But the Kings were able to respond with an 16-0 run of their own.

It was a game of runs, as the Nets also went on a 11-0 run in the second quarter.

It was also a game of technical fouls, as the Kings got a technical on Cousins and an ejection of Barnes, and Brooklyn got technicals on Kenny Atkinson and Randy Foye.

Even with the loss, the Nets set a franchise record with their tenth consecutive game of 10 threes or more. They had 16 threes today.

Finishing with 37 points, Cousins was the show.

First quarter? Great. Second quarter? Good. Third quarter? The same under par play that has held all season long. The hole the Nets dug in that quarter was just too much, no matter how well they played in the beginning.

No showing in the third quarter? No good, Nets.