LDN - Sports

Balanced Kings cruise past Suns

[October 27, 2016] PHOENIX -- For Sacramento Kings forwards DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, combining for 46 points in a game is nothing new. However, needing only 25 combined shots to get there, and getting lots of help from many different sources, are new and welcome developments.

Cousins scored 24 points and Gay had 22 as the Kings opened the season with a strong 113-94 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The Kings' top two scorers had plenty of reinforcements. All 11 Kings who played in a 57-point first half scored, and the Sacramento bench outscored Phoenix 30-3, including a 16-1 run to close the first quarter, helping the Kings build a 19-point lead at the break.

"The biggest difference (this year) is everybody is part of the offense," Gay said of the Kings, who are coming off a 33-win season. "Obviously, we have our players that can go get buckets, and we will get ours when we need them. But everyone has the freedom to be aggressive."

Playing without suspended guard Darren Collison, the Kings committed only 13 turnovers while forcing 18. Forward Matt Barnes had 14 points and guard Garrett Temple contributed 12 for the Kings, giving coach Dave Joerger a win in his Sacramento debut with a grueling first three weeks ahead.

"Playing 11 games in the first 17 nights, this wasn't a must-win, but it would be nice to have because the schedule gets really tough," said Joerger, whose team faces the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday in its home opener. "Right now they are exhausted mentally and physically. You have to get to that level (where) that's who you are every single night."

Guard Devin Booker led Phoenix with 18 points but struggled with foul trouble.

Guard Eric Bledsoe had 16 points and forward T.J. Warren added 14 points for the Suns, who showed little life in their home opener until a trio of players making their NBA debuts -- guards Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis and forward Dragan Bender -- helped cut a 26-point deficit to 10 in the second half.

"We've got some adjustments to do," Bledsoe said. "They went on a run and we could never bounce back from it. I think we played hard. It's just that they played well."

The Suns missed 11 of 19 shots in the first period as an early 18-14 lead disappeared quickly. The Kings ended the first quarter on a 16-1 run, six of the points by guard Ben McLemore. The Sacramento bench outscored the Suns 20-1 over the final 2:54, with Temple's floating jumper with two seconds left giving the Kings a 30-19 lead after one quarter.

"We came out a little rusty, and the second group came in with incredible energy and really opened the game up," Cousins said. "There was basically no looking back from there."

Phoenix never got closer in the second quarter, committing six turnovers.

Booker scored eight points in the first half and committed his third foul with 1:08 left, while the Kings stretched their lead to 57-38 at the half.

The Kings extended their lead to as many as 26 points in the third quarter. Cousins had 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and his two free throws made it 80-54 with 3:21 left.

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Kings forward Rudy Gay #8 makes a pass in front of Phoenix Suns forward T.J. Warren #12 during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Then the youngsters rallied Phoenix. Bender and Ulis had seven points during a 9-2 Suns run to end the third quarter and started the fourth with another run. Chriss scored following a 3-pointer by Bender to cut the Sacramento lead to 86-76 with nine minutes left.

"We just played young guys, let them play aggressive, let them have fun and be creative," Phoenix coach Earl Watson said. "It was fun to watch. We need that energy, those steals, deflections and that purpose. So those guys kind of earned some minutes now."

Bender had 10 points in 12 minutes.

"I worked hard this summer getting ready for this," Bender said. "We had a little problem in the first half. In the second half, the young guys put their energy on the floor and showed what we can do as a team."

After the fourth-quarter Phoenix surge, Gay answered with a dunk and followed a 3-pointer by Barnes with one of his own to make it 94-77 Kings, and Sacramento rolled from there.

NOTES: Kings G Darren Collison began his eight-game NBA suspension for a domestic-violence incident, leaving starting G Ty Lawson as the only true point guard on the opening-night roster. ... Suns coach Earl Watson said F P.J. Tucker, recovering from back surgery last month, would be limited to cameo appearances of 10-12 minutes for the first few games. Tucker was scoreless in six minutes Wednesday. ... The Suns' opening-night roster included four teenagers: G Devin Booker turns 20 on Sunday, F Marquese Chriss and F Derrick Jones Jr. are 19, and F Dragan Bender is 18. ... The Suns and Kings are in the same division but faced each other to open the season for just the second time. The other was a 107-89 Sacramento win on Nov. 4, 1994 behind 20 points from Mitch Richmond. ... New Kings coach Dave Joerger on how he would view his team from the outside: "We're an interesting group. You never know. That's the scary part. If you are on the other side, you just don't know."

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