DeMarcus Cousins Blames Latest Ejection on His Reputation

The way DeMarcus Cousins sees it, the elbow he threw at Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s head on Sunday night (which may result in a suspension) didn’t merit an ejection. Cousins says it’s because he’s built up a bad reputation with the refs that he was kicked out of the game. Per the Sac Bee: “Actually, I was cool about it,’ Cousins said after practice Tuesday. ‘I didn’t know if he did it (low bridge) on purpose. That’s what I asked him. ‘Was that on purpose?’ His response was, ‘What if it was? What are you going to do about it?’ […] ‘The whole situation was based on my reputation, which is unfair,’ Cousins continued. Asked if his elbow to Dunleavy’s head was deliberate, he added, ‘It really wasn’t. If you see the replay, it’s not as hard as he acted out to be. I was just trying to get around the screen.’ […] A few minutes later, when Cousins’ account of the incident was related to Isaiah Thomas, the Kings point guard couldn’t stop grinning. ‘He (Cousins) got him good,’ Thomas said, laughing. ‘That’s all I’ve got to say. He got him with an elbow. Hopefully his consequences aren’t too bad. … You always feel if somebody (Dunleavy) goes down low, they might have done it on purpose. But you’ve got to calm your nerves and be professional about it. Things escalate. They got a double technical. Everybody in the arena is going to be looking at you for the next couple plays.'”