SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A three-game explosion by center DeMarcus Cousins has brought with it three straight victories for the Sacramento Kings, and not coincidentally, better spirits inside the Kings locker room.

But it was some of the other, smaller things in Sacramento's 107-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Sleep Train Arena that also had the Kings feeling much better than they did six days earlier.

Cousins' game-high 36 points marked his third straight 30-point contest, but guard Ben McLemore's slashing, acrobatic layup inside a crowded key that gave Sacramento the lead for good with 1:40 left. And a defense that kept Toronto scoreless over the final 2:52 was just as crucial.

"You can see that our defense is starting to come together and get some stops," forward Rudy Gay. "That's where it starts from."

Gay added 27 points, and forward Omri Casspi contributed 14 off the bench for the Kings (4-7), who haven't lost since holding a team meeting following a 106-88 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Cousins, who acknowledged cussing out coach George Karl in the locker room and apologized later, has been on a one-man tear since then.

The sixth-year center has averaged 32.5 points in four games since returning from a strained right Achilles' tendon, and has totaled 113 in the past three. He also added 10 rebounds against Toronto and defended guard DeMar DeRozan's drive to the hoop with 25 seconds left and the Kings holding a 104-101 lead. Gay made two free throws after a foul at the other end to clinch it.

"We fought for 48 minutes," said McLemore's, who drove the lane and put in the lay-up that put Sacramento ahead to stay 102-101. "We played team ball, moved the ball. Everybody played for each other, sacrificed."

DeRozan finished with 24 points, and guard Kyle Lowry scored 22 for Toronto, which opened a five-game trip against Western Conference foes. Lowry had eight points during 12-1 run that made it 89-79 early in the fourth quarter, but Toronto's offense subsequently sputtered.

"Turnovers were huge down the stretch," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We had turnovers, took tough shots down the stretch, and to top it off, we had some defensive breakdowns."

Guard Cory Joseph scored 17 for the Raptors (7-4), and his short jumper put Toronto ahead 97-89 with 4:48 left. But Toronto missed 8 of 10 shots down the stretch and didn't score after DeRozan's short jumper made it 101-96.

"We had that 10-point lead, turned the ball over and lost communication a couple of times down the floor," DeRozan said. "That kind of hurt us."

Cousins hurt them plenty of ways, too. He canned three 3-pointers as Sacramento went into intermission ahead 53-51, and he now has 12 in the Kings' first 11 games. He made only 11 3-pointers in his first five seasons in the league.

"It just goes to show what he worked on all summer," Gay said. "Now that he's in a George Karl-(designed) offense, the opportunities are coming for him to get that shot, and he's shooting it in the flow."

Guard Rajon Rondo, who according to Elias Sports Bureau was the first player in the Kings' three-decade Sacramento history to record three triple-doubles in four games, failed in his bid to become the first to record three in a row. He finished with 14 assists to go with seven points and seven rebounds.

Toronto played its fourth game without guard Terrence Ross, who is out indefinitely with a ligament injury in his left thumb. The Kings played their fifth consecutive game without guard Darren Collision, sidelined with a strained left hamstring and also played the second half without forward Willie Cauley Stein, who left as a precaution after taking a hit in the head.

NOTES: Kings PG Rajon Rondo has played an average of 45.4 minutes in the five games Sacramento has played without his backup, PG Darren Collison. With Collison available in the Kings' first six games, Rondo averaged 27 minutes per contest. Rondo played 43 minutes Sunday. ... F Patrick Patterson is the lone remaining player still with Toronto who was involved in the seven-player deal between the two teams that sent F Rudy Gay to Sacramento on Dec. 9, 2013. Gay, and F Quincy Acy remain with the Kings, though Acy took a one-season detour with the New York Knicks in 2014-15. ... More Rondo: He needs two more triple-doubles in Sacramento's final 72 games to tie F Chris Webber for the team's Sacramento single-season mark of five, set in 1999-2000. ... The Raptors played the first of five consecutive games on the road against Western Conference teams. Toronto was 5-10 on the road against Western Conference teams last season.