Kings 132, Lakers 114
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rajon Rondo had 21 points and eight assists, many of them during a dominant first quarter, and the Sacramento Kings ran away from Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers 132-114 on Friday night at Sleep Train Arena.
Rondo, who was held to four points and four assists in Sacramento's season-opening 111-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, scored 10 points in the first quarter and led a 33-10 run that put the Kings ahead by double digits for the entire night.
Center DeMarcus Cousins, coming off a 32-point, 13-rebound opener, added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Kings beat the Lakers for the fourth consecutive time. Cousins played without a turnover after committing eight two nights earlier against the Clippers.
Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points to lead the Lakers and forward Nick Young had 17.
Bryant, who started at forward, produced just 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. He missed seven of eight shots from behind the 3-point arc but moved past former teammate Shaquille O'Neal and into the top five among field goal leaders in NBA history.
Bryant's second basket, a 10-foot bank shot with 4:26 to go in the second quarter after he grabbed teammate D'Angelo Russell's miss, surpassed O'Neal. He has 11,334 field goals and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan on the all-time list.
Forward Rudy Gay scored 19 points and rookie Center Willie Cauley-Stein had 17 points in his first NBA start for the Kings. Guard Darren Collison added 14 points and forward Omri Casspi 12 off the bench for Sacramento.
The Kings, who were blitzed in the early going by the Clippers in the opener, wasted little time doing the same to the other Los Angeles team. The Kings raced to leads of 16-4, 31-12 and 35-14 during the opening 12 minutes en route to a 40-24 lead.
Rondo set off the explosion, scoring 10 points in the opening six minutes and also setting up a layup and dunk by Gay and Cauley-Stein, respectively.
Rondo, the free-agent acquisition who played last season with the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, finished with five assists in the first quarter.
NOTES: Next up for Lakers G Kobe Bryant after passing C Shaquille O'Neal for fifth place on the NBA's career list of field-goal leaders is Michael Jordan at 12,192. Hall of Fame C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader at 15,837. ... Top Kings draft pick C Willie Cauley-Stein earned his first start in his second game. Sacramento's top 2014 pick, G Nik Stauskas (No. 8 overall), started the final game of last season, then was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer. ... Bryant made his 62nd career appearance against Sacramento. Only the Los Angeles Clippers (66), Golden State Warriors (64), Memphis Grizzlies (64), and Phoenix Suns (63) have gone up against him more than Sacramento. He averaged 27.9 points per contest against them in the first 61. ... Kings coach George Karl used 11 players and received 37 points and 16 rebounds from six players off the bench in Sacramento's opener. G Darren Collision, who started all 45 games he played a year ago, has come off the bench in both games this season.