The Sacramento Kings defeated the host Phoenix Suns 113-94 at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday.
Sacramento (1-0) built off an early first quarter lead and never had to look back, as they were aided by efficient scoring from both the starters and the bench. Ty Lawson started in place of Darren Collison (suspension), and will continue to shoulder the starting point guard minutes according to coach David Joerger. Lawson logged 36 minutes. Although Lawson proved to be one of the few Kings scorers to finish below 50 percent from the field, his seven assists led all players. DeMarcus Cousins picked up where he left off last season, dominated the paint and often found his way to the free throw line, as the all-star big man finished with 24 points and six rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting (12-of-16 FT). The Kings were aided by a strong bench performance, led by newly acquired Matt Barnes (14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 28 minutes) and Garrett Temple (12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 18 minutes).
Phoenix (0-1) was relatively quiet when it came to offseason acquisitions, however multiple narratives surrounding rookie players Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, in addition to Devin Booker’s strong second half of last season carried into the opener. The two rookies came off the bench and combined for 17 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes of action, while Devin Booker took until the second half to get hot. Booker ended up with 18 points, three assists and two rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. The Suns were outpaced by the Kings and had trouble finding efficient shooting on the perimeter, evidenced by the 25 percent effort as a unit.
The Kings head home on a back-to-back by welcoming the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, while head to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Friday.
