The Nets were in contention Sunday night, but not in the play.
Brooklyn lost to Sacramento 107-77 in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.
The Nets (31-48), who have won five of their past seven games, were looking to build positive momentum heading into the offseason.
But what they discovered was an assault at the hands of the kings.
Indeed, the Nets played at the tail end of the back-to-back games with a decimated frontcourt, without starting center Nick Claxton and forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith.
However, they were trailing by 25 points in the first half and 33 points in the second half, and could never get close.
The Nets swept the Kings for the second year in a row (45 wins, 33 losses).
Although they didn’t hold Sacramento to a franchise-record 25 3-pointers like they did in the Dec. 11 loss, they still lost.
The difference this time is that it was offensive incompetence that usually hit the Achilles heel under interim coach Kevin Ollie.
Cam Thomas led the way with a team-high 21 points, but the Nets shot just 34.9 percent overall and an abysmal 7-of-30 from 3-point range.
Teenage rookie Noah Clowney had swollen muscles and was knocked onto the court at least four times.
But it was Dennis Schroder who was called on the flop, flown out, and given a technical hit for trouble.
It was that kind of evening.
Schroder hit a brutal layup off Clowney with 5:47 left in the first half to take a 14-7 lead, but the Nets went on a 20-3 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes.
Brooklyn missed seven of its next eight shots and committed three turnovers.
And when the blitz ended, Davion Mitchell’s 3-pointer gave them a 27-17 lead with 30 minutes left in the first.
Fox’s midrange reversal just before the half put the Nets in a 65-40 hole from which they could not climb out.
It was a strange first half, with Mikal Bridges taking just two shots and missing both of them in a nearly invisible scoreless first half.
Schroder, on the other hand, made 1 of 10 shots.
The Nets managed to get within 14 points to end the third, but it remained 80-66 after Thomas’ layup.
But not only did he fail to score the final run, he also saw the Kings suffer a crushing loss.
A 27-8 run put the Nets within 33 points.
Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis came within striking distance of his 27th triple-double.
He finished the game well with 18 points, 20 rebounds, and 9 assists.
De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and five boards for the Kings.
