Nets 104, Kings 89: Marcus Thornton scored 27 points off the bench against his former club and Brooklyn overcame a sensational game from DeMarcus Cousins to defeat visiting Sacramento.

Thornton, who was acquired from the Kings last month, hit five 3-pointers while doing his damage in just 28 minutes as the Nets won for the fifth time in six games. Joe Johnson led the starters with 18 points while Alan Anderson chipped in with 11 in a reserve role.

Cousins erupted for 28 points and a season-high 20 rebounds in a losing effort as the Kings dropped to 2-1 on their seven-game road trip. Rudy Gay added 20 points while Isaiah Thomas had 10 but also committed seven of Sacramento's 25 turnovers.

Brooklyn came out firing, opening up a 17-4 lead on Shaun Livingston's alley-oop dunk just under 5 1/2 minutes into the game. Cousins converted a three-point play near the end of the frame to trim the deficit to single digits, but Mirza Teletovic hit a pair of jumpers as part of a 10-1 Brooklyn run and the Nets withstood a late Sacramento rally to carry a 49-40 advantage into the intermission.

Gay poured in five points during a 10-0 run that moved the Kings even with the Nets near the midway point of the third quarter, but Livingston had a dunk and Thornton knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to quell the rally and send Brooklyn into the fourth with a 77-65 lead. Thornton caught fire to open the final quarter - scoring 13 of Brooklyn's first 16 points - and the Nets cruised from there.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams split the season series, with each team winning at home. ... Cousins has scored 20 or more points in five straight games. ... The Kings dominated the rebounding ledger 53-27; no Brooklyn player had more than four boards.