SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Anthony Davis watched the alley-oop pass go off his fingertips amid two defenders and off the glass.

He then sprung high for the rebound and came down to find nobody near him. He hesitated, glanced in both directions, then went up for a soft shot off the glass.

The third quarter put-back by the New Orleans Pelicans forward spoke volumes, not just about the Pelicans' 109-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday at Sleep Train Arena, but about the maddening inconsistencies surrounding both teams.

The Pelicans, with only 12 victories all season, were in control for much of the night, knocking down a franchise-best 16 3-pointers and building a 28-point, fourth-quarter lead.

"That's the potential we can play with," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. "Now, it's a matter of just trying to figure out how to do it night after night."

The Kings, fighting the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, turned the ball over 18 times and never led after scoring the game's first two baskets. Even an 18-2 run in the final quarter hardly mattered.

"It's effort, that's all it is," Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins said. "It's been our problem all year. We're kind of all talk right now."

Davis finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a two-game absence caused by a bruised back. Guard Eric Gordon added 24 points and knocked down six of 12 3-point attempts to help the Pelicans (12-26) snap a four-game losing streak and win for just the second time in eight games.

The effort came after a 95-91 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday that had Gentry questioning his team's intensity.

"We really did a great job of moving the basketball," Gentry said. "We went through a bad stretch, but we knew they were going to make a run. And we weathered that."

Gordon's final 3-pointer from the left wing defused Sacramento's comeback from a 95-67 deficit and pushed the Pelicans' advantage to 100-85 after the 18-2 run. Forward Ryan Anderson, who finished with 18 points, nailed another 3-pointer on the next possession.

New Orleans tied the franchise mark for 3-pointers set earlier this season against the San Antonio Spurs.

"When we move the ball, we've got a lot of weapons," Anderson said. "It makes a world of difference when you make shots."

Cousins finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings (15-23) and led a ferocious fourth-quarter charge by scoring 10 consecutive points. however, he shot just 1-for-7 in the opening quarter, and the Pelicans took over the contest with a 22-6 run.

"It was a combination of things, but it was mostly effort," Cousins said. "Everybody in this locker room knows why we lost. They played harder than us."

The Pelicans hardly were threatened after their first-quarter surge. Sacramento cut the deficit to 68-60 early in the third quarter, but New Orleans responded with 15 consecutive points en route to a 27-7 run that made it 95-67 early in the fourth quarter.

The Kings, ninth in the NBA's Western Conference entering the night, remained two games behind the Utah Jazz, who lost to the Trail Blazers in Portland.

"We let the 3-ball get out of control and had a little turnover bug in our game and gave them 15 extra possessions early in the game," Kings coach George Karl said. "I thought defensively we could be happy, but our offense was probably flatter than normal."

Guard Norris Cole added 18 points for New Orleans, and the Pelicans' bench outscored Sacramento's 47-34. Starting center Omer Asik added 13 rebounds to go with eight points.

Point guard Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and added 10 assists to his NBA-leading total for Sacramento. Rondo is averaging 11.6 assists per contest.

Forward Rudy Gay had 12 points, and guard Darren Collison scored 10 for Sacramento.

NOTES: Pelicans G Tyreke Evans played only seven minutes against his former team after injuring his knee. He missed all three of his shots and finished scoreless. ... Sacramento, ninth in the Western Conference, travels to eighth-place Utah on Thursday in the second of three meetings between teams vying for the final playoff spot. The Kings, who beat the Jazz 114-106 at home on Dec. 8, would be assured of the tiebreaker edge with a win. ... Pelicans C Anthony Davis missed five of the Pelicans' first 37 games, or 13.5 percent. He missed 47 games in his first three seasons, or 19.1 percent. ... F Omri Casspi's return to the floor after missing four games with a sore upper back did not propel F Quincy Acy back to Sacramento's bench. Acy made his fifth straight start, his longest streak of starts since December 2014, when he was with the New York Knicks. ... New Orleans will play nine of its next 10 games at home, where the Pelicans have seven victories. They will play three games against Eastern Conference opponents, against whom they are 2-10.