Kings 142, Suns 119
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The storm lifted Saturday for one of two teams enduring dark times recently, even as a rare day time start did nothing to clear the clouds for the other.
Center DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points in his first game since saying a "dark cloud" was hovering above his team and the Sacramento Kings blitzed the Phoenix Suns in the second half for a 142-119 afternoon victory at Sleep Train Arena.
Guard Darren Collison added 21 points, and the Kings (13-20) posted their highest-scoring game of the season. Six Kings finished in double figures.
Cousins spoke out Wednesday after the Kings dropped a 115-110 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers (3-32). Cousins on Saturday made 11 of 15 shots from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and had two steals as Sacramento ended a three-game losing streak. With the steals, Cousins tied Lionel Simmons for sixth on Sacramento's all-time list.
Guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and added 15 assists to his league-leading total for Sacramento, which blew the game open with a 44-point third quarter - its highest of the season. Guard Marco Belinelli scored 19 points, forward Rudy Gay had 16 and forward Omri Casspi chipped in 13.
Guard Brandon Knight scored 23 points for Phoenix (12-24), which saw its longest losing streak since the 2010-11 season grow to eight. The Suns overcame an early 31-14 deficit and led 71-67 early in the third quarter. Phoenix center Tyson Chandler was ejected after an 8-0 Kings run, and Sacramento closed the quarter on a 28-16 run for a 103-87 lead.
The lead grew to as many as 26 points in the final quarter.
Guard Devin Booker scored 21 points and forward T.J. Warren added 19 for the Suns.
The Kings used a 23-2 run over a 6:18 stretch in the first quarter to open a 31-14 lead with 55 seconds left.
Phoenix blitzed Sacramento 33-17 to start the second period to go ahead 51-48 with 3:03 left in the half.
NOTES: Suns G Ronnie Price (right big toe) returned to the floor after missing two games and made his 500th career appearance, and F Jon Leuer (left ankle sprain) was back after missing one game. ... Phoenix C Tyson Chandler remained in the starting lineup for the second straight game, following a four-game run of coming off the bench. ... Kings G Rajon Rondo, averaging a league-best 11.2 assists per game is on pace to become the first Sacramento player to lead the league in that category and the first King to do so since Nate "Tiny" Archibald averaged 11.4 assists in 1971-72 when the team was based in Kansas City. ... In Phoenix's first three games without leading scorer Eric Bledsoe (season-ending knee surgery), Suns F T.J. Warren scored 63 points. Bledsoe led the Suns in scoring at 20.4 points per game when he was injured. ... Kings C DeMarcus Cousins, brought in a homecourt scoring average of 27.9 points in the 14 of the 18 home games he played, the second-best mark in the league. But he was shooting only 43.6 percent from the field.