SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento Kings power forward DeMarcus Cousins made only one of 10 shots in the first half against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

Fortunately for the Kings, Cousins kept shooting.

Cousins scored 30 points in the second half on 12-for-17 shooting and finished with 40 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Kings to a 111-109 victory against the Nets at Sleep Train Arena.

Point guard Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Kings.

"Caron (Butler) talked to me and said, 'Just stay aggressive, your shot's going to fall,'" Cousin said of the veteran Kings forward. "That's what I did. Luckily they fell."

Cousins scored 21 points in the third period, making 8 of 11 shots from the field, 2 of 2 from long range and 3 of 4 from the line, dominating Brooklyn center Brook Lopez.

"I think as the game wore on, Lopez's size (wasn't) as much of a factor," Kings coach George Karl said. "Big bodies get fatigued a little bit. Cuz is quicker than people think he is and smarter and longer than people think he is."

Cousins fouled out with 44 seconds left, one point shy of his career scoring high.

Rondo had his third triple-double in his past four games for the Kings (3-7), who won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"I call him a dog," Kings backup forward Quincy Acy said. "Not too many people could play 48 minutes on a nightly basis. He's getting triple-doubles, he's doing whatever it takes for us to get wins. That's a leader right there. He's doing it by example and showing nothing can get in his way of helping the team win."

Rondo, who played 48 minutes in each of his two previous games, actually spent 4:11 on the bench Friday, when backup Seth Curry gave him a break.

Guard Ben McLemore came off the bench to score 15 points for the Kings and reserve guard Marco Belinelli had 14.

Guard Jarrett Jack had 21 points and 13 assists for Brooklyn (1-8). Lopez added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Thaddeus Young had 16 points and nine rebounds, forward Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 points and guard Joe Johnson added 14.

"Had a good first half, made some runs in the second," Lopez said. "Cousins played well. Great job in the second half, and he got off. I think that definitely cost us."

The Kings trailed 60-54 at halftime but finished the third quarter on a 19-8 run to build an 85-82 lead entering the fourth. Cousins scored the Kings' first 15 points during that spurt, drilling two 3-point shots.

Cousins credited Acy for coming off the bench in the second half and energizing the Kings.

"We started off sluggish, lazy," Cousins said. "Q brought energy and kind of lifted up the whole team."

Cousins hit a 10-foot jumper with 6:33 left, increasing Sacramento's lead to 97-89. McLemore drained a 3-point shot with 4:13 remaining, making it 100-93. Cousins' three-point play with 1:34 left gave the Kings a 107-100 lead with 1:34 showing.

The Nets refused to fold. Johnson drilled a 3-point shot with 21 seconds left as Brooklyn cut the lead to 109-107. McLemore made two free throws with 15.3 seconds left, increasing the Kings lead to four.

Trailing 111-109 with 1.1 seconds left, Brooklyn inbounded the ball in Sacramento's end, but Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein tipped the pass and Rondo intercepted.

"It's tough, Jack said of the loss. "I thought it was a game that we had control of for the majority. We weren't able to stop the runs that they made in the second half."

After losing their first seven games of the season, the Nets broke through for a 106-98 victory on Wednesday victory at Houston, but their bid for back-to-back wins fell short.

The Kings were coming off just their second win of the season, a 101-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at home.

NOTES: Kings starting F Rudy Gay missed the game because of a stomach virus. Gay is averaging 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Kings F Caron Butler, a 13-year veteran, started in Gay's place. ... Nets F Chris McCullough (right knee) and F/C Willie Reed (torn ligament, right thumb) were out for the ninth straight game. ... Kings backup G Seth Curry (right ankle sprain) returned to action after missing two games, but backup G Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) missed his fourth straight game. ... Nets rookie F Hollis-Jefferson made his fourth straight start.