The Phoenix Suns (3-2) defeated the Sacramento Kings (1-4) Wednesday 118-97 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.
The Suns maintained control of the game from the opening tip, outscoring the Kings 28-18 in the first quarter and never looking back. The effort was led by Eric Bledsoe, who stuffed the stat sheet on his way to a game-high 19 points (8-19 FG, 2-4 3Pt), eight assists, six rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes. His running mate in the backcourt Brandon Knight wasn’t too far behind, accumulating 17 points and seven assists in 33 minutes of his own.
As a team, the Suns maintained a hot scorching hot shooting effort throughout the night, shooting 54 percent from the field and an incredible 61 percent from behind the arc.
Sacramento was unable to be as effective on offense, as their starters combined to score just 46 out of teams 97 points. Their bench was forced picked up the slack, led by backup center Kosta Koufos, who saw added minutes with DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles) remaining sidelined. Koufos scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. Marco Belinelli and James Anderson added 15 points of their own while Darren Collison racked up 13 points and six assists in 32 minutes.
Up next, the Suns will stay at home Friday to take on the Pistons, while the Kings will head home Friday and go up against the Rockets.
