SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Dave Joerger has been preaching an old-fashioned message since the first day of camp, repeating it like an old vinyl record on a turntable with a needle that skips.

The ongoing missive from the coach: His Sacramento Kings must play consistent, hard defense to start their ascent in the Western Conference.

To judge by the Kings' 102-94 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday at Golden 1 Center, Joerger's point may be taking hold: The Kings held an opponent under 100 points for the second straight contest and third time in eight games.

But they weren't entirely pleased with their effort away from the ball.

"I don't think we won this one the way we should have," Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said. "We gave them a lot of easy layups. We were lackadaisical. But we'll take this one and keep working."

Cousins scored 28 points, but it was his two consecutive defensive plays that helped the Kings pull away. First, Cousins' blocked shot led to his layup. Two Pelicans possessions later, he slapped the ball away from guard Langston Galloway, creating Darren Collison's layup. Those two plays were part of an 8-0 run that helped the Kings (4-5) pull away.

"The second half, we really, really competed defensively," Joerger said. "We made some mistakes. The ball got in the paint too much. ... But I thought we really battled. When you are playing that hard, it takes a while to learn how to play that hard on a nightly basis. We are learning that, and I was impressed."

Sacramento held New Orleans to 45 percent shooting and limited the Pelicans to just five 3-pointers. Those two factors helped offset a rough defensive night inside; New Orleans scored 46 points in the paint.

"We've got to shoot better," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "We've got to do a better job of making shots and being more resilient on the defensive end. We have to make some shots and get some stops."

Rudy Gay had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Kings (4-5), as they won their second straight and ended a six-game skid against the Pelicans. Sacramento beat New Orleans for the first time since Nov. 25, 2014.

The Kings also were bolstered by Collison's return. He played for the first time this season after an eight-game suspension because of domestic violence. Collison scored nine points in 28 minutes off the bench.

"He did a great job," Joerger said. "He's worked hard and stayed after it, spending time with the coaches and learning and making sure he was up to speed on everything."

The Pelicans have been slow out of the gate this season. Their eighth consecutive loss to begin the campaign matched the 2004-05 New Orleans Hornets for the worst start in franchise history.

Center Anthony Davis finished with 34 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans, which lost for the second time in as many nights. Davis has scored at least 30 points five times already this season.

"They're fighting, scratching and clawing," Joerger said. "I give them a lot of credit. They're going through a tough time with their record, and they competed."

Guard E'Twaun Moore finished with 13 points despite rolling his right foot and injuring his right big toe in the first half. Guard Tim Frazier had nine assists to go with five points for the Pelicans, but New Orleans never led. They were down 78-74 a minute into the final quarter when the Kings went on their eight-point spurt.

"We've got to play better; there's just no way of getting around it," Gentry said. "We're playing hard, but we aren't always playing smart."

The Pelicans appeared to have cut Sacramento's lead to 51-48 at halftime, but referees made the teams replay the final 18.9 seconds of the second quarter after intermission because they mishandled a foul call on Cousins. The foul on Cousins should have been ruled the fifth team foul on the Pelicans and resulted in free throws, but refs ruled it otherwise before correcting themselves at halftime.

Cousins knocked down the two free throws, and New Orleans didn't score, putting Sacramento ahead 53-46 entering the final two periods.

NOTES: Kings G Ty Lawson played 21 minutes after averaging 32 minutes a game during teammate G Darren Collison's eight-game suspension. Collison's return is expected to ease that load for Lawson, an eighth-year veteran who averaged 21 minutes a contest with Houston and Indiana last season. Lawson was scoreless in 21 minutes Tuesday. ... C Anthony Davis' next 40-point, 10-rebound contest for New Orleans will be his eighth, tying him with Golden State Warriors C Kevin Durant for the second most in the past 30 years. Shaquille O'Neal did it 16 times. ... Kings F Anthony Tolliver was back in uniform after being inactive for two straight games with a bruised knee. Tolliver didn't play and has now sat out four straight contests. ... Davis, a teammate of Sacramento C DeMarcus Cousins and F Rudy Gay for the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, contested an average of 14.4 shots in the Pelicans' first seven games, the second-best mark in the league.