SACRAMENTO – It was a game that was, at times, bewildering. At times crazy. At times riveting. But in the end, it was just another defeat for the Portland Trail Blazers, a 126-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings that was their third straight.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 55 points in a spectacular performance for the Kings, while alternately playing the role of hero and crazy man. Cousins won this game for Sacramento -- but could have easily lost it for the Kings, too.
There was 35 seconds to go in the game when he hit a layup to give his team a two-point edge. He was fouled on the play and supposed to go to the free-throw line to make it a three-point advantage. But first he took a detour toward the Trail Blazer bench to taunt his opponents. At that point official Brian Forte whistled Cousins for his second technical foul of the game -- and automatic ejection. Cousins immediately dashed full speed to his locker room where, he later admitted, he was just trying to figure out which objects to "tear up" in anger.
But Forte met with the other two officials and rescinded the technical.
"I called a technical foul because I thought DeMarcus threw his mouthpiece into the stands when it ended up underneath the Portland bench," Forte said. "I conferred with my partners and they confirmed that he did not throw the mouthpiece and that it came out of his mouth and that's how it ended up there."
It was a huge change in the course of the game. If Cousins had been banished, Stotts would have been able to choose who on the Kings' bench would have to shoot the ensuing free throw. Instead, Cousins knocked it down for a three-point lead.
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Stotts said Forte asked him if Cousins threw the mouthpiece and Stotts said he didn't. "I thought he was getting the technical for taunting our bench, Stotts said.
Meyers Leonard, who was in the area of Cousins' venom toward the bench, said, "I can't tell you what he said. It was vile."
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