Jeremiah Fears has 22 points and 13 assists as the Pelicans beat the Kings for their first win

Jeremiah Fears had 22 points, a career-high 13 assists and eight rebounds Thursday night, and the New Orleans Pelicans got their first win of the season, 132-120 over the Sacramento Kings at Smoothie King Center.

New Orleans is 1-4 under first-year coach Jamahl Mosley. Sacramento is 0-5.

The Pelicans needed Fears to run the offense. Jordan Poole was out with an ankle injury, and Dejounte Murray missed the game for the birth of his child, according to the Associated Press. Fears shot 9 of 16 and made three 3-pointers.

Zion Williamson scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting, with every make coming in the paint. Trey Murphy III added 19, Herbert Jones scored 16 and was a plus-27, and Karlo Matkovic chipped in 12. The New Orleans bench outscored Sacramento's reserves 41-8, per the AP.

The game swung on turnovers. Sacramento gave the ball away 25 times, and the Pelicans had 18 steals, the ESPN box score shows. New Orleans scored 80 points in the paint and 34 on the fast break.

It was close for a half. The Pelicans never trailed after Murphy's free throws made it 55-54 late in the second quarter, and they led 63-61 at the break. A 16-2 run in the middle of the third quarter, with Williamson and Murphy scoring 11 of those points, put it away.

Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. was the bright spot for the Kings. He scored a career-high 34 points with 14 assists on 13-of-26 shooting. Precious Achiuwa scored 24 on 12-of-17, De'Andre Hunter added 24, and Zach LaVine had 21 but was a minus-25. Domantas Sabonis, who came in leading the league at 16.5 rebounds per game, had nine points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, with seven turnovers.

Sacramento still shot 52 percent and dished 31 assists. It just kept giving the ball back, and New Orleans ran. The Pelicans had been the other winless team in this matchup and lost to Denver on Wednesday night, when Nikola Jokic posted his 200th career triple-double.

Up next: The Kings visit Memphis on Saturday, and the Pelicans host Atlanta. Sacramento can score. It cannot win until it stops handing the ball over.