NBA Kings struggle, but good enough to beat Cavaliers

Cleveland was playing without its two centers, top draft pick and head coach.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- If the Sacramento Kings hope to put any more banners next to the one they hung on opening night, they'll have to play more like the team that won the Pacific Division last spring.
Peja Stojakovic scored 17 points and Chris Webber had 14 rebounds as the Kings overcame 20 turnovers and opened a season of great expectations with a 94-67 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Gerald Wallace scored 15 points and Damon Jones had 18 in his debut for the Kings, who unveiled the first division title banner ever hung at Arco Arena. Sacramento was an NBA-best 61-21 last season.
"It was an exciting night, but it's just a start," said Webber, who scored just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting. "We wouldn't be ready for the playoffs if they started today. We need the whole 82-game season to find out where we are."
Opening night problems
While steadily pulling away in the second half, the Kings dealt with all the usual opening-night problems in execution -- and a few unusual ones, thanks to passing mistakes that Vlade Divac said were caused by the new purple road uniforms they wore.
"The jerseys were confusing us," Divac said. "We usually wear white jerseys at home. We were passing to white jerseys."
But thanks to Cleveland's 24 turnovers and 32 percent shooting, Sacramento held the Cavs to the lowest score by an opponent since the Kings moved to Northern California in 1985. Ricky Davis scored 17 points for Cleveland.
The Kings played without their starting backcourt. Doug Christie began a two-game suspension for his preseason fight with Rick Fox of the Lakers; Mike Bibby will be out for about a month while his broken foot heals.
Jones, a well-traveled veteran signed last week to back up Bobby Jackson while Bibby is out, hit three 3-pointers in the first half and immediately fit into the Kings' free-flowing offense as they pulled away in the second half.
"In the preseason, I had a lot of open shots that I didn't make," Jones said. "I've been working on my shot extra in practice. I thought it paid off."
Cavaliers missing
The Cavaliers -- playing without their top two centers, their top rookie and their coach -- took their first loss in what's certain to be a long season for a team that won 29 games last season and then traded its top three scorers, including NBA assists leader Andre Miller.
Former Cleveland forward Lamond Murray believes the Cavs are tanking the season to improve their chances of drafting Ohio high school phenom LeBron James next fall. Coach John Lucas missed the game because of a two-game suspension for holding offseason workouts with James.
"They came out in the third quarter and started going up and down really well," Cavs assistant coach Jerry Eaves said. "We couldn't hang with them. It was good for us to play in this type of environment, though. It's the loudest gym in the league, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to come in here early."
Rookie Dajuan Wagner's NBA debut must wait until he recovers from a bladder infection, while center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was suspended because of his no-contest plea to drunken-driving charges. Backup center Chris Mihm also didn't dress due to a strained hamstring.
"A big factor was not having our big men in there, but we'll be all right," said Darius Miles, who had 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting and 10 rebounds."