Cousins Scores 55, Gets Ejected, Then Un-Ejected For Spitting Mouthpiece In Kings Win

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It was the DeMarcus Cousins show at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night.

The Sacramento Kings center scored 55 points and was ejected, then un-ejected from the Kings 126-121 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Cousins was in the spotlight after the team announced he was fined $50,000 for his conduct toward a Sacramento Bee columnist. The star unleashed a profane tirade against Andy Furillo earlier this month in an incident that was caught on camera.

Cousins came out to play on Tuesday, though, missing his personal best scoring night by a point in leading the Kings to a big come-from-behind win.

The center was ejected with roughly 30 seconds to go in the game after he appeared to spit his mouthpiece at the Trail Blazers bench while celebrating a shot and drawing a foul. Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts brought it to the refs' attention, leading to the technical foul.

But moments later, that foul was withdrawn and Cousins made an entrance from the tunnel.

Officials after the game said they initially thought Cousins had thrown his mouthpiece into the stands, but then noticed it on the floor and decided it couldn't have been thrown. The issue of whether it was spat from Cousins' mouth did not come up in their discussion before rescinding the technical foul.

After the game, Cousins had plenty to say about the ejection that wasn't.

"That was a weird sequence. I've never experienced that before," he said. "I was caught up in the moment on what I was going to tear up in the locker room, and they called me back, rushed me back."

Cousins says he didn't intend to spit on someone, saying it's not something he would do.

When asked about his $50,000 fine, Cousins simply gave a thumbs up with a smile.