SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For Sacramento fans, just seeing their Kings on the court was a victory after all the talk of moving at the end of last season.

Beating the hated Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener only made it sweeter.

Marcus Thornton scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Kings beat the Lakers at home for the first time in more than three years, 100-91 on Monday night.

“It was nice to be back,” coach Paul Westphal said. “It was wild in there and our players really liked the feeling of that game. The fans were just fantastic.”

Tyreke Evans added 20 points, John Salmons had 13 and DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who had lost nine of 10 to the Lakers and five straight at home.

“It’s not a rivalry,” Kobe Bryant said. “We beat them every year. Oh my God. I don’t care if they beat us tonight. I like (Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof). I hope they enjoy this.”

Bryant scored 29 points and Metta World Peace added 19 for the Lakers, who opened the season with consecutive losses for the first time since 2002-03, putting a damper on the start of new coach Mike Brown’s tenure.

“We have a lot of games left, a lot of games left,” World Peace said. “Everything is going OK. Everything will be great.”

Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette entered to a loud ovation midway through the first quarter and then committed a double dribble the first time he touched the ball.

Otherwise, it was nothing but a positive start to the season for the Kings, who didn’t even know if they would be in Sacramento after ending last season with an overtime loss at home to the Lakers.

But the city got a reprieve when the team decided to stay for at least one more season instead of moving to Anaheim. That has led to newfound optimism that an emerging roster of young and athletic playmakers can return the Kings to prominence and the city can build a new arena to keep the team here for the long term.

The Kings went on an 11-0 run around halftime and then put together a strong finish to the third quarter led by Cousins. Playing with four fouls, Cousins scored eight points in the final 3:20 of the third to give Sacramento a 78-64 lead heading into the fourth.

Thornton scored seven of the Kings’ first nine points of the fourth as Sacramento maintained its lead. But six straight points by World Peace helped the Lakers cut it to 89-87 with 4:24 to play.

Thornton hit a three-pointer to give the Kings some breathing room and newly acquired forward Chuck Hayes had a key block on Pau Gasol leading to two free throws by Evans. The Lakers never got the deficit to less than five points after that. Thornton’s jumper made it 99-89 with 1:10 to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“We stayed the course,” Thornton said. “We didn’t get riled up. When they were making that run, we shot a couple of quick shots. We got back to doing what we do best.”

Los Angeles doesn’t have to wait long to get a chance for its first win in this lockout-compacted season, as the Lakers host Utah tonight with their third game in three nights to open the season.

“Everyone is going to have to play three straight games and we will have to find a way through this,” Brown said. “We have had a lot of practice, followed by a long day today, but everyone has to go through it as well.”

The Kings took a 49-40 halftime lead, holding the Lakers to 36.4 percent shooting, including an uncharacteristic four-for-13 performance from Bryant.

Sacramento even had success matching 5-foot-9 rookie Isaiah Thomas on Bryant on a few possessions in the second quarter despite a 9-inch height disadvantage.

Also on Monday:

Nets 90

Wizards 84

WASHINGTON — Kris Humphries shrugged off loud booing to finish with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Deron Williams had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, helping New Jersey beat Washington.

Bobcats 96

Bucks 95

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — D.J. Augustin scored 19 points, rookie Kemba Walker added 13, including two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining, and the Bobcats erased a 14-point deficit to beat the Bucks.

Magic 104

Rockets 95

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points to lead five Magic players in double figures as Orlando earned its first victory of the season with a win over Houston.

Pacers 91

Pistons 79

INDIANAPOLIS — Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 14 rebounds to help the Pacers defeat the Pistons. David West, Indiana’s big free agent addition, had 11 points and 12 rebounds, even though he made just three of 12 field goals. Tyler Hansbrough had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Paul George added 12 points.

Raptors 104

Cavaliers 96

CLEVELAND — Rookie Kyrie Irving scored six points and hardly played like the No. 1 overall pick as the Raptors spoiled the Cleveland guard’s NBA debut with a season-opening win over the Cavaliers.

Thunder 104

Timberwolves 100

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Durant scored 33 points to lead the Thunder to a victory over the Timberwolves. Russell Westbrook added 28 points, six assists and six rebounds, and James Harden scored 16 points for the Thunder.

Nuggets 115

Mavericks 93

DALLAS — Ty Lawson scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half and the Denver Nuggets faced little resistance on their way to a victory over the Mavericks. Dallas allowed Denver to score 20 unanswered points in the second quarter and were down by 33 late in the third.

Spurs 95

Grizzlies 82

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and the Spurs got some payback after their stunning playoff collapse last season, beating the Grizzlies.

Hornets 85

Suns 84

PHOENIX — Eric Gordon made a 20-footer from the top of the key with 4.2 seconds to play in his New Orleans debut to give the Hornets a victory over the Suns.

Warriors 99

Bulls 91

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry had 21 points and 10 assists, Monta Ellis scored 26 points and Golden State beat Chicago, giving rookie coach Mark Jackson his first victory at any level. David Lee added 22 points and seven rebounds and Dominic McGuire made three free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the win for Golden State.