Sacramento 104 Oklahoma City 83:Kings fly through Thunder

Facing an Oklahoma City squad that had a day to think over their 117-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors, things looked bleak for the dilapidated Kings.

In the post-Michael Malone era, Sacramento had failed to keep the opposing team under 100 points in 10 games. That streak was snapped on Wednesday night with the Thunder failing to even crack the 90-point mark. The 104-83 victory marked their first double-digit win since November 22 and their largest since November 5.

After losing seven of their past 10 and coming off a 1-3 road trip, Sacramento looked rejuvenated after two days of practice. The effort and hustle was their on the court and they took advantage of Oklahoma City's off night.

Russell Westbrook had no problem jacking up 19 shots, but saw only three of them sink through the net. He was frustrated all night and it showed with seven turnovers and a (-23) mark while on the court. Though Kevin Durant wasn't much better, making just eight of his 20 shots.

While Westbrook was certainly holding back the Thunder, no one frustrated them more then DeMarcus Cousins. It wasn't even a strong night for him, he went 6-23 from the field with a technical, but he fought in the paint and made 13 trips to the free throw line in the first half.

Cousins still looks out of it when teammates don't get him involved or a call doesn't go his way, but there are plenty of more good moments than bad. He finished the night with 23 points, 15 rebounds and a (+18) mark.

Darren Collison beats the buzzer https://t.co/xF008ljNXf
— Matt Johnson (@MattJ_onNFL) January 8, 2015

The biggest star of the game was Darren Collison, who kept building his case to be a candidate for Most Improved Player. He toasted Westbrook all night, especially from beyond the arc where he scored 15 of his 24 points. Collision brought tight defense against Westbrook throughout the night.

Rudy Gay had his moments throughout the night, finishing with a game-high 28 points and 3-3 from the three-point line, contributing to the Kings great night beyond the arc (10-19). Overall, the big three of Cousins, Collison and Gay combined for 75 of the team's 104 points.

Sacramento improved to 15-20 on the season and will have a chance to be 10-10 at home with a win on Friday night versus the Denver Nuggets.

No tip for Waiters

Just two days after being pulled from the Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup and shipped off to the Thunder, Waiters came off the bench in his debut. It was a needed change of scenery for the third-year guard, but Waiters just served up more problems.

When Waiters was called upon, he brought out the chef's special. Taking unnecessary contested shots, shooting with plenty of shot clock and disappearing on defense. He played 22 minutes and finished 1-9 from the field with four points. Waiters showed why the Cavaliers were more than happy to ship him out of town.

Clear Skies, No Thunder

It was another horrific game for Oklahoma City–shooting under 35 percent from the field and under 30 from three. If that wasn't enough to drag them down, they met the dreadful 20/20 mark of 20-plus fouls and turnovers.

https://t.co/DjzPKtII3w
— Matt Johnson (@MattJ_onNFL) January 8, 2015

Some credit can certainly go to Sacramento for playing better defense, especially putting them in position to draw charges and block shots. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with three blocks and four charges taken.

But the bigger picture is Oklahoma City just having an abysmal two-game road trip to California. They had the chance to move past .500 for the first time this season but shot 59-187 combined in their two losses to the Warriors and Kings.

We're talking about practice

It turns out two days of hitting the gym with coach Ty Corbin and re-focusing on the little things may have been just what Sacramento needed to take a step forward defensively. Corbin wanted to get back to the basics and that showed.

While you'd still like to see Sacramento cut down more on the turnovers, they won the turnover battle 16-24. Unlike in previous weeks, you saw more communication on the court and guys got in position to force stops and keep points off the scoreboard.

One unsung name in all of this is Ben McLemore who has made tremendous steps forward throughout his game, but even more so on defense. The second-year guard had four steals and was pivotal to holding Oklahoma City under 40 percent from the field. After many fans were ready to call him a bust after a disappointing rookie season, McLemore's star is on the rise.