ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are off to their best start in six seasons and the Sacramento Kings have now gone 10 years without a victory in Atlanta.

The Hawks regained control by holding the Kings to 14 points in the fourth quarter after giving up 37 points in the third and improved to 3-0 with a 106-95 victory Monday night.

"Coach really challenged us after that," Kyle Korver said of Mike Budenholzer's urgent call for the Hawks to get back to playing like they can. "So far this season, we've been a pretty good defensive team and we know that's got to be one of the strengths of our team to play at a high level.

"We were challenged and we responded in that fourth quarter. There were a ton of highlight plays and we started to feed off the home crowd. Better defense also got our offense going."

Dwight Howard blocked four shots, including a key one in the decisive fourth-quarter push. The veteran center, signed as a free agent, scored 18 points despite going just 8-for-20 from the foul line and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Korver and Dennis Schroder each scored 17 points for the Hawks, while Paul Millsap had 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Thabo Sefolosha had three of his four steals in the fourth quarter and Kent Bazemore had three thefts in the game to go with his 11 points.

"We have a lot of blood-thirsty players on this team and we never back down from a challenge," Bazemore said. "We took up our physicality and got back to our style of basketball."

Rudy Gay scored 22 points for the Kings (2-2). DeMarcus Cousins, who came in averaging 30 points, scored 14 and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Sacramento was within 90-88 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks ran off eight straight points to take control.

"Where it ran back away from us is when we fell in love with the jump shot and stopped getting in the paint," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "Then they were able to run out on us."

It was a slugfest most of the game. There were 54 fouls called, 30 against the Kings. The Hawks were 29 of 47 from the foul line and the Kings made 13 of 19 free throws.

"There were definitely a lot of fouls. It was a physical game," Korver said. "It was a choppy, but that happens some nights and you have to play through it."

The Kings outscored the Hawks 22-5 during an early third-quarter run to take a 66-60 lead. Gay picked up his fifth foul shortly thereafter and Cousins drew his fifth before the period was over.

The Kings, though, were up 81-79 going into the fourth quarter thanks to four 3-pointers at the end of the third, two by Matt Barnes, who had 14 points.

"Some good, some bad," Budenholzer said of his team's performance. "But overall I liked the response to (the Kings') run. We were able to withstand that and find a way, especially with our defense."

The Hawks led by 13 early in the second quarter and were up 53-44 at halftime despite making just 48 percent of their free throws.

The Kings sent Atlanta to line 25 times in the first half, but the Hawks could make just 12 thanks in large part to Howard going 3-for-12.

Korver, going 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc, led the Hawks with 11 first-half points, matching Gay. Millsap had 11 rebounds.

"He's a tough matchup for us," Joerger said of Millsap. "He didn't have a great shooting night, but he was able to control tempo. Our half-court defense was OK at times, but we didn't finish possessions with the rebounds, and you just can't give them that many shots."

NOTES: Hawks F Mike Scott will be sidelined for approximately four weeks while undergoing a series of non-surgical procedures on his left knee. He hasn't played this season and was limited in training camp. "It's probably better that it's now instead of later," coach Mike Budenholzer said. ... The Hawks are also without C Tiago Splitter (hamstring) for at least another week. ... Atlanta released 7-foot-3 C Edy Tavares, a second-round draft pick in 2014, and re-signed F Ryan Kelly, who was with the Hawks in training camp after spending three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. ... It was the first of five road games in seven days for the Kings, who play at Miami on Tuesday. "It's always difficult coming east with the time change and this is a long week," coach Dave Joerger said. ... The Kings are without G Darren Collison for four more games. He was suspended by the NBA for the first eight games of the season after pleading guilty to domestic abuse.