SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Patty Mills has spent more than his share of nights riding the bench for coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs over the past five seasons. There also were a number of nights when he saw significant minutes.

Putting those two ingredients together, the point guard who once attended tiny Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif., became the kind of clutch player that has kept the Spurs winning for nearly two decades.

Mills' clutch play in the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings on Monday was one of the primary reasons the Spurs escaped with a 106-88 win at Sleep Train Arena.

Mills hit two layups and a 3-pointer and handed out six assists during San Antonio's fourth-quarter explosion that proved to be the difference.

"I think it just shows how much I've learned during my time in San Antonio," Mills said after finishing with modest totals -- nine points, eight assists, four steals -- that did not reflect the impact he had in the final quarter. "I've learned that you can't live or die on your shot."

Mills had all four of his steals in the final 12 minutes, and the Spurs outscored Sacramento by 17 points when he was on the floor in the final quarter. San Antonio, which has finished above .500 on the road for a record 18 consecutive seasons, has won three of its first five away from home and five of six overall since losing its opener.

"It's just a point of learning to be a better player," Mills said. "It's understanding a lot better the rhythm of the offense. It's understanding what's expected of you as a player. It's a lot of things."

Forward Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 24 points, and forward LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Center Tim Duncan added 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Center DeMarcus Cousins returned from a four-game absence and led Sacramento with 21 points and 12 rebounds. The Kings, however, played without guards Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) and Seth Curry (right ankle sprain) and lost their sixth straight overall and their fourth in a row at home. Their 1-7 start matches the 1990-91 and 1988-89 clubs for the worst in the team's Sacramento history.

"It's tough," Kings forward Omri Casspi said. "We've got to find a way out of our slump. ... I feel like we have what we need to win right now."

Cousins, who returned from a strained right Achilles tendon, played 32 minutes and labored up and down the court for much of the contest. Even so, he finished with his 200th career double-double, joining Chris Webber as the only Sacramento players to record that many.

"I was pretty fatigued, throughout the game," Cousins said. "It's no excuse."

Sacramento forward Marco Belinelli scored 17 points against his former team, and Casspi had 16 off the bench. Point guard Rajon Rondo had eight points, 12 assists and six rebounds and played all 48 minutes.

Kings forward Rudy Gay scored 10 points but made only five of 15 shots.

It was Mills who made the difference in the end for San Antonio. His seven early fourth-quarter points triggered a 23-12 run to start the period, and the Spurs outscored Sacramento 34-19 over the final 12 minutes.

"He was pretty aggressive and made a lot of plays for us down the stretch, especially defensively" Spurs forward David West said. "He played big."

Guard Tony Parker finished with 13 points for San Antonio, and his 3-pointer was followed by another by Leonard during 14-2 run that broke a 55-55 tie in the third quarter. The Kings than scored 12 of the next 14 points and trailed only 72-69 going into the fourth.

NOTES: The Kings have played only three of their eight games with C DeMarcus Cousins, F Rudy Gay and G Darren Collison each in uniform. The three, who were the team's leaders in scoring and minutes last season, suited up together in only 32 of Sacramento's 82 games last season. ... Seven of the Spurs in uniform Monday were making more than half of their shots from the field entering Monday, with G Patty Mills and F David West leading the way at 57.1 percent. The Spurs were shooting 48.1 percent as a team in the season's first two weeks, second only to Oklahoma City's 48.4 percent. ... Sacramento G Seth Curry was unavailable for the second straight game after aggravating an ankle injury warming up for the contest. ... The Spurs travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, capping a stretch in which they play six of their first eight games on the road. ... The Kings' next eight games will be against Eastern Conference teams. Sacramento went 11-19 teams from the East a season ago.