By: Eric He

The Sacramento Kings notched their first opening night win in three years on Wednesday night with a 113-94 thrashing of the Suns on the road.

DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 24 points and six rebounds, while Rudy Gay chipped in 22 points. Matt Barnes added 14 points off the bench with Gary Temple scoring 12.

The Kings jumped out to a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter as a monster dunk by Willie Cauley-Stein put them up 28-18. Sacramento extended its lead in the second quarter, taking a 20-point lead early in the frame and a 57-38 lead into halftime.

Phoenix cut the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter, but a 12-1 run by the Kings put the game away for good.

Devin Booker’s 18 points led the Suns, while Eric Bledsoe had 16.

It was a positive start for new head coach Dave Joerger’s debut in Sacramento.

“They got after it on defense,” Joerger told ESPN. “The key for our defense is to set it. We executed offensively and didn’t turn it over. When we did that, we were able to set our defense.”

The Kings are back at it Thursday at home against San Antonio.