A quasi-classical theory of laser cooling is applied to the analysis of cooling of unbound atoms with the angular momenta 1/2 in the ground and excited states in a one-dimensional nondissipative optical lattice. In the low-saturation limit with respect to the pumping field, the mechanisms of cooling can be interpreted within the framework of an effective two-level system of ground-state sublevels. In the limit of weak Raman transitions, the mechanism of cooling of unbound atoms is similar to the Doppler mechanism known in the theory of a two-level atom; in the limit of strong transitions, the mechanism of cooling is analogous to the well-known Sisyphys mechanism. In the slow-atom approximation, analytical expressions are obtained for the friction (drag) coefficient and the induced and spontaneous diffusion, and the kinetic temperature is estimated.
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