Returning guard Damion Lee scored a team-high 26 points as the Santa Cruz Warriors opened their 2018-19 NBA G League season with a 118-108 win over the host Northern Arizona Suns on Saturday night at the Prescott Valley Event Center.

The Warriors promised at Media Day on Tuesday to play stifling defense this season and they delivered big time. They recorded 15 steals and forced 21 turnovers.

Lee, a 6-foot-6 guard out of the University of Louisville and a two-way player for Golden State, made 11 of 15 attempts from the field and added six rebounds and three steals. He finished with a plus-16 rating in the 31 minutes he was on the court.

Lee was one of four Warriors to reach double figures in scoring. Starting small forward Marcus Derrickson, also a two-way player, added 20 points, three rebounds and three assists, as did a pair of reserves — Darius Morris (17 points in 26 minutes) and Kendrick Nunn (15 points in 18 minutes).

Forward Antonius Cleveland and reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson each scored nine points for the Warriors (1-0), who host Stockton (1-1) in their home opener on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Santa Cruz trailed Northern Arizona 55-54 at the half, but rallied and earned some breathing room after it outscored the Suns 37-23 in the third quarter for a 91-78 lead.

The Suns had seven players reach double digits in scoring, including all five of their starting five. Small forward George King, a two-way player for Phoenix, led the way for the Suns with 22 points. Shooting guard Peter Jok and reserve Daxter Miles Jr. each added 19 points.

Santa Cruz’s Will Cherry started at shooting guard and had eight points and starting center Deyonta Davis had two points, six rebounds and three steals.

The Warriors shot 56 percent from the field (45-81) and 36 percent (11-31) from beyond the 3-point arc. They also made 17 of 22 from the free-throw line.

Jok had 10 rebounds, center Derek Cooke Jr. had nine and guard De’Anthony Melton, on assignment from Phoenix, had eight to help the Suns have a 42-34 edge on the glass.

The Suns shot 50 percent from the field, draining 13 of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc, and made 15 of 21 attempts from the free-throw line.

Serbian Alen Smailagic, 18, the youngest player in G League history, scored three points in seven minutes off the bench for Santa Cruz.

The Score

Warriors 118, Suns 108

Up next: Stockton at Warriors

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Online: Facebook Live