Tony Allen Says Russell Westbrook Flopped on DeMarcus Cousins' Flagrant Foul

Tony Allen accused Russell Westbrook of using DeMarcus Cousins' reputation to draw a flagrant foul in Monday night's game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder.

During the third quarter, Cousins swung his elbows after securing a defensive rebound. After he appeared to see Westbrook reach for the ball behind him, the Pelicans big man hit the Thunder point guard near his neck:

After viewing the replay, officials issued a flagrant-2 foul that ejected Cousins from the game.

Cousins has received 112 technical fouls and 11 ejections in his career. According to the Norman Transcript's Fred Katz, Allen suggested his teammate's volatile past helped Westbrook accentuate the elbow:

While it's possible Westbrook exaggerated the blow, it's harder to argue Cousins' elbow was incidental. The NBA defines a flagrant-2 as "unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent," so a hard hit or serious injury is not needed to draw the harsher penalty. 

Down 76-72 at the time of Cousins' ejection, the Pelicans rallied to notch a 114-107 victory behind 36 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Davis. 

[Fred Katz]