SANTA CRUZ — Guard Darius Morris gave fair warning to the rest of the NBA G League: The Warriors have a better half of basketball in them.

Hard to believe, because only one other half in team history has been more exceptional. Santa Cruz scored 79 points in the first half — two off the team record — and never trailed in their 123-104 home-opening win against the Stockton Kings at Kaiser Permanente Arena on Wednesday night.

“If we can go out and continue to get better in practice, we definitely have a better half in us,” said Morris, the 41st pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA Draft. “This is only our second game, second time playing with each other. There’s a lot of new faces here, so I think we have the potential to do better.”

Golden State Warrior Steph Curry sits courtside with his two daughters at Wednesday night's Santa Cruz Warriors home opener with the Stockton Kings. Curry was also accompanied by his mother and teammates Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Newest Golden State Warrior DeMarcus Cousins, right, gets a reaction from teammate and former Santa Cruz Warrior Quinn Cook as Steph Curry looks on sitting courtside at Wednesday's Santa Cruz Warriors home opener against the Stockton Kings. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warrior Kevin Young drives between Stockton Kings guards Cameron Reynolds and Marcus Williams in Wednesday's home opener. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)



Jacob Evans, on assignment from Golden State, tries to muscle his way past Stockton Kings guard Cameron Reynolds while the Kings' Kalin Lucas also gets a hand on Evans during Wednesday night's home opener. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warrior Darius Morris, out of Michigan, dishes the ball off to a teammate beyond the 3-point line during Wednesday night's home opener against the Stockton Kings. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Stockton Kings guard Reggie Hearn gets under the chin of Santa Cruz Warrior Damion Lee waiting for an inbounds pass during Wednesday night's home opener. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)



Will Cherry out of Montana scores for the Santa Cruz Warriors during Wednesday night's home opener against the Stockton Kings. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

By intermission, three Warriors had double digits in scoring — including Morris with 17 points off the bench — and 10 different players scored. No matter who was on the court, the Warriors were either driving to the basket for scores or draining uncontested 3s to wow the near-capacity crowd, which included Golden State players Stephen Curry, DeMarcus Cousins and former Santa Cruz star guard Quinn Cook seated courtside.

Santa Cruz shot 63 percent in the first half (31 of 49), including 12 of 16 from beyond the arc (75 percent).

“It was a great half for us,” second-year coach Aaron Miles said. “They came out, they played hard on the defensive end. And on the offensive end, I thought they did a great job of sharing the ball. And that’s how any coach wants their team to play. I just tip my cap to them. They played their butts off in that first half, for sure.”

Santa Cruz finished with 22 assists.

The Warriors (2-0) look to extend their hot start when they face Agua Caliente (0-1) at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Facebook Live.

Two-way forward Damion Lee, Curry’s brother-in-law, led the Warriors in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with 28 points again. He was two rebounds shy of posting his team’s first double-double this season.

Santa Cruz finished shooting 53 percent from the field (47 of 88), 57 percent from beyond the arc (16 of 28) and 65 percent from the free-throw line (13 of 20).

Morris finished with 19 points and five assists in 25 minutes off the bench, guard Will Cherry had 15 points and seven rebounds, guard Michael Gbinije had 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench, guard Antonius Cleveland had 12 points and seven rebounds, and guard Kendrick Nunn had 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

The Warriors, who led by as many as 37 points, held a 79-45 advantage at the half. Santa Cruz had a history of blowing double-digit leads last season, and its four returning players, including Lee, didn’t forget that after Stockton narrowed the gap to 109-94 in the fourth, forcing Miles to call a timeout.

So when Lee was fouled on a put-back and made the ensuing free throw for a 117-96 lead, he unleashed a fiery celebration.

“That was definitely a little flashback from last year,” Lee said. “We’d play, we’d have a big lead, a good run and then we’d get a little stagnant. Then we’d watch the score and kinda just hope the clock runs out before they come back. So I think that kinda, I guess you could say, put the nail in the coffin, cut their run, cut their momentum.”

Kalin Lucas led Stockton (2-2) with 29 points after coming off the bench. Reserves Cody Demps and Cameron Reynolds each added 12 points. Two-way forward Wenyen Gabriel scored 11 and Matt Jones and Reggie Hearn each added 10 points.

Santa Cruz outrebounded the Kings 47-37, recorded seven steals and six blocked shots.

Lee, selected the player of the game by the Warriors, made plenty of big shots. Teammate Deyonta Davis had four points, six rebounds and two blocked shots on consecutive defensive series that led to back-to-back 3s from Lee in transition for a 50-26 lead.

Morris drained a Curry-like 3-pointer from 10 feet beyond the arc. Morris avoided eye contact with the two-time NBA MVP after his long-range 3.

“I gotta make a couple more before I can look his way,” Morris said. “I look at the other team, though. Nah. If I could shoot it just like a quarter of how Steph does, I’d be all right. I’m working on it, I’m working on it. It definitely felt good to do that in front of him, for sure.”

Cleveland, a 6-foot-7 guard, turned in multiple highlights. He had a steal and transition dunk in the second quarter — he took off near the free-throw line — and made a contested floater after switching hands while in the air in the third. His final dunk late in the fourth brought the crowd to its feet, including Curry. He dribbled down the baseline and finished with a reverse with authority over Hearn.

“The kid’s a freak, man. An athlete,” Lee said.

Added Morris: “The first one was good but the second one was great because it was on somebody. You know? Go baseline. I had the perfect view; I was on the corner. I thought he was going to lay it up and then boom! You know what I mean? It shows his athleticism. At his height, that’s what a lot of teams value. We definitely value it.”

The Score

Warriors 123, Kings 104

Up next: Warriors at Agua Caliente

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Online: Facebook Live