Kings 124, Knicks 86: Rudy Gay scored 25 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Sacramento opened an eight-game road trip by pounding New York.

Ben McLemore scored 20 points and Derrick Williams added 17 as the Kings led by 30 during the first half while rolling to the win. Cousins returned from a two-game absence due to ankle and hip injuries to record his 35th double-double of the campaign.

Alexey Shved scored 15 points for the Knicks, who received 24 points on 8-of-29 shooting from their starters. Jason Smith and Shane Larkin added 13 apiece for New York, which dropped to 8-22 at home.

The Kings were in control from the outset and led 35-19 at the end of the first quarter. Sacramento began to distance itself further with a 17-0 run and held a 56-27 lead on Gay’s 3-pointer with 5:41 left in the second quarter and increased it to 30 before settling for a 65-39 lead at the break.

The domination continued over the first half of the third quarter and the lead topped out at 44 on Gay’s 3-pointer with 6:01 left. New York briefly showed life with 12 straight points and trailed 100-68 entering the final stanza before the Kings finished off the easy victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Gay has scored 20 or more points on 35 occasions this season. … The Knicks missed all 12 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 4-of-22 while Sacramento went 10-of-18. … Kings PG Darren Collison (core muscle) underwent surgery and will be sidelined approximately six weeks.