PHOENIX -- Mike James will never forget his first week in the NBA, much of it for all the wrong reasons.

However, after enduring two humiliating losses by more than 40 points and seeing coach Earl Watson fired and starting point guard Eric Bledsoe sent home to await a trade, James helped give the Phoenix Suns a moment to exhale and smile with a win.

Barely.

James scored 18 points and handed out seven assists in his first start in place of Bledsoe, and his bank shot with 14.1 seconds left helped the Suns hang on for a 117-115 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

"I work on that shot every day. I haven't done it yet this year, and I was kind of nervous when I did," said James, a 27-year-old point guard who helped Panathinaikos capture the Greek League and Greek Cup titles last year. "Winning cures all. The more you win, the happier everybody is."

Garrett Temple had 16 of his career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings, but he missed a free throw that would have tied the game with 9.7 seconds left. His last-second 3-point attempt that would have won it was just short.

Marquese Chriss also made his first start and produced 19 points for Phoenix (1-3). Suns rookie Josh Jackson had 15 off the bench for interim coach Jay Triano, who took over for Watson on Sunday and admitted he had only 45 minutes of sleep since.

"We had more of a clinic than a shootaround (Monday morning), just to try to get a few concepts in," Triano said. "I'm happy for our players, with what they've gone through the last couple of days."

Phoenix lost by 48 to the Portland Trail Blazers on opening night and by 42 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday before Watson was fired and Bledsoe tweeted his wish to leave town.

On Monday, the Suns made 14 of 20 shots in the first quarter and led by as many as 22.

Phoenix still led by 11 with 3:08 to play in the game. However, Temple hit three of his five 3-pointers during a 14-3 run, and Kings rookie De'Aaron Fox tied the game at 112 on an 8-foot floater with 58 seconds left.

Temple felt the slow start against an inspired team was too much for the Kings to overcome.

"We knew they were going to play with an edge when their coach got fired and all the stuff going on there," Temple said. "That's when teams come together and play well. Coach told us that, we just didn't heed it."

Fox finished with 19 points, and Skal Labissiere added 17 for the Kings. Sacramento (1-3) shot only 36 total free throws in the first three games but attempted 29 against the Suns, a positive sign for a struggling team.

"That was the difference between this game and the first three. We were being aggressive and we got to the line," Fox said. "We forced them into a lot of turnovers (21), but we didn't capitalize on them (27 points)."

Devin Booker, who led the Suns with 22 points, called the game "a must-win" for his team.

"Everything that happened in the last 24 hours should be an eye-opener to us," Booker said. "I'm proud of the team in how we responded. We came out and fought."

For Jackson, it was the way the team came together during a tough time that was most important.

"Everything isn't the same, obviously, but the guys still came in with great attitudes, and we're trying to stick together," he said. "All day today, from shootaround to after the game in locker room, at every point of the day, I felt like we were together."

NOTES: Suns G Eric Bledsoe was sent home after a meeting general manager Ryan McDonough on Monday before the team's shootaround. McDonough said it was likely Bledsoe had played his last game in Phoenix. Bledsoe tweeted "I Don't wanna be here" a few hours before the Suns fired coach Earl Watson on Sunday. ... The Kings had won six of the previous seven games against the Suns. The lone Phoenix win came thanks to a buzzer-beater by G Devin Booker on Feb. 3, 2017. ... The Sacramento bench outscored the Phoenix bench 78-45.