SACRAMENTO -- DeMarcus Cousins was frustrated with Blake Griffin even before their wrestling match on Thursday night.The Kings' center had seen the replays from Wednesday's Clippers-Lakers game like everyone else, how the high-flying Griffin planted his elbow in the face of Pau Gasol during one of his trademark spectacular dunks.
Opinions had varied about whether Griffin should have been called for an offensive foul, including former NBA referee Mike Mathis saying it should have been called an offensive foul, while Kobe Bryant's assessment on the contrary that the play was above reproach.
But Cousins didn't see it that way. He viewed the no-call as a continuation of the preferential treatment that Griffin has received from the NBA during his two seasons.
"He's babied," Cousins told SI.com after the Kings fell to the Clippers 93-85. "He's the poster child of the league. He sells tickets, but he's babied. Bottom line."
Babied by whom, Cousins was asked.
"The refs, the league -- period," he continued. "He gets away with [everything]. He taunts players. Nothing is done. He's babied."
Moments after Griffin's late scoring surge helped the Clippers hold on for their seventh win in eight games, Cousins -- who played just 18 minutes because of foul trouble and had to sit down for good with six seconds left -- made it clear he wanted more. He could be seen jawing with Griffin from the team's bench before heading toward the locker room, then pointing toward the tunnel as if to invite him to the worst kind of postgame party.
Cousins had plenty of reason to be frustrated. He had been outstanding lately, averaging 26.4 points and 12.2 rebounds in the previous nine games and scoring a career-high 41 points in a loss to Phoenix on Tuesday.
But early fouls in Cousins' latest outing meant he was stuck on the bench for most of the night, and numerous key plays went against him at the end. After Cousins barreled through Griffin and Caron Butler for a layup that cut the Clippers' lead to one with 1:30 left, Cousins' ball-swipe attempt on Griffin on the next possession led to his fifth foul.
The camera angle didn't show whether Cousins made contact with Griffin's face, but Smart was incensed on the sideline and Cousins was quick to accuse Griffin of selling his reaction to get the call.
"Of course that's what Blake is going to say because he's in L.A., where actors belong," Cousins said when told that Griffin was "moving on" to the rematch. "He's an actor."
Cousins was then asked about the foul.
"I guess the wind from my hand hit him in the eye," he said sarcastically. "I guess he got fouled by the wind. I'm not sure."
Griffin, who hit two jumpers and a half-hook in the post during an 85-second stretch late, fronted Cousins and forced a turnover on a Kings inbound pass with 16.5 seconds left to all but end it. Cousins, who took exception to Griffin's arm being wrapped around his waist on the play, was convinced it was yet another case of Griffin's being let off easy.
If the Kings ever find their way out of the Pacific Division cellar, this could become quite the rivalry. For now, though, Griffin wasn't ready to reciprocate Cousins' contentiousness. Nor was he expecting an NBA rendition of Saturday Night Raw when the two teams play again.
"Nah, it wasn't me going at it," he said with a chuckle afterward. "There was none of that. I don't want to get that [idea] started. I don't know, man. You're asking the wrong guy in this ordeal.
"There were some things that I think I wouldn't have handled them the same way, but I'm not the judge of what's wrong and right out there. We'll see what happens."
4/9/2012 10:09 AM
