DeMarcus Cousins Makes Superstar Statement and Other Takeaways from NBA Sunday
DeMarcus Cousins sent the rest of the NBA a formal invitation to his coming-out party Sunday afternoon.
In the Sacramento Kings' 98-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Cousins ravaged L.A. by totaling 34 points (15-of-23 shooting), 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. NBA.com/Stats shared Cousins' shot chart:
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Sunday marked the second time in Cousins' career that he recorded at least 34 points and 17 boards in a single game. Coincidentally, the other occurrence came against the Clippers.
What's more impressive, though, is that Cousins became the first player in over 25 years to record such a gaudy line against the Clippers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Lundblad:
The last player to meet all of those statistical benchmarks in a single game was Dwight Howard last December, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
While his image has been tainted by some demonstrative on-court blowups over the past few years, Cousins finally looks like he's ready to put the league on blast from a statistical perspective.
“I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect,” Cousins told reporters following the win, according to the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones. “I’ll probably never be perfect, but I’m trying, and we’re trying to get success down here. We don’t want to remain the same team that everybody thinks of us always.”
Still in search of his first All-Star appearance, Cousins has brought positive energy to both ends of the floor so far this season.
Through three games, the 24-year-old center has helped the Kings post a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 96.0, according to NBA.com. Furthermore, Cousins has posted a net rating of plus-17.2 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com, while recording an individual defensive rating of 86.6 in 32.2 minutes per game.
Considering the Kings have played the Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers (and held each of them below 100 points), those numbers are shocking, especially after Sacramento recorded the league's eighth-worst defensive rating a year ago.
And on offense, Cousins' versatility stole the show. Four of his first five buckets came on jump shots outside the paint, which is absolutely terrifying when you consider how much of a bully he can be with his back to the basket.
During the season's opening week, Cousins knocked down 52.9 percent of his shots from mid-range, supplementing a 60.9 percent conversion rate in the restricted area, according to NBA.com.
With the win, Sacramento now sits at 2-1. According to the team's official Twitter account, fast starts have largely eluded the Kings since 2010:
Cousins and the Kings will look to earn their third win when they square off against the Denver Nuggets at 9 p.m. ET Monday night.
Around the Association
Back-to-Backs Don't Faze Dwyane Wade
Behind 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat defeated the Toronto Raptors, 107-102, on the second night of a back-to-back.
Miami is now the lone unbeaten team (3-0) in the Eastern Conference after compiling wins against the Raptors, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers to open the season.
Chris Bosh posted a double-double consisting of 21 points and 11 rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting.
Clippers Offense Disappears Late
After leading by four points through three quarters, the Clippers offense collapsed in the final frame of Sunday's 98-92 loss to the Kings.
Through three games, the Clippers have now scored 93 points or fewer twice, an event that occurred only 10 times all of last season, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Fox Sports Radio's Isaac Lowenkron provided details on L.A.'s futile offensive showing in the fourth:
Although five Clippers finished in double figures, last season's top-ranked offense shot 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from three, while boasting zero 20-point scorers. Chris Paul totaled 16 points and 11 dimes, while Blake Griffin finished with 17 points (6-of-20 shooting) and eight rebounds.
Klay Thompson Propels Warriors past Blazers
Thanks to a go-ahead fadeaway runner from Klay Thompson with 8.7 seconds remaining in regulation, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 95-90, to start the season 3-0.
One night removed from dropping a career-high 41 points, Thompson broke new ground as a scorer by posting 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting (3-of-7 from three), according to GSWStats on Twitter:
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 26 points and 13 rebounds, which helped him join some elite company, according to Trail Blazers PR:
Melo Reaches a Milestone
In the New York Knicks' 96-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Carmelo Anthony made history by scoring his 20,000th career point.
Here's video of the moment Anthony surpassed 20,000:
According to NBA TV, Anthony reached the scoring milestone in relatively short order:
When all was said and done, Anthony finished with 27 points (12-of-22 shooting), while Amar'e Stoudemire scored 17 points while grabbing 10 rebounds off the pine against a stout Charlotte defense.
The Knicks are now above .500 (2-1) for the first time since starting last season 1-0.
You Won't Like Josh McRoberts When He's Angry
Here's Josh McRoberts doing his best Incredible Hulk impression in the fourth quarter of Sunday's contest against the Raptors:
Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick passed along details regarding McRoberts' wardrobe malfunction:
In eight minutes off the bench, McRoberts tallied two points and one rebound a night after scoring just three points in his season debut against the Sixers.
Dunk of the Night
Thompson's on a mission to inform us that he's not just a three-and-D specialist and provided a compelling case at the expense of Blazers center Robin Lopez:
