NEW YORK, USA - Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins was suspended one game without pay Thursday by the NBA for elbowing Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford in the jaw during a game.
Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA executive vice president for basketball operations, announced the punishment, which came for an incident which took place with two minutes remaining in the first quarter of Atlanta's 103-97 victory Wednesday over the visiting Kings.
Horford signaled to the referees that he had been hit, but officials missed it and Cousins remained in the game. Cousins scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the loss
Cousins later told ESPN that the blow was basically a reaction. "I was trying to get him off me because when I shot the shot I [got hit] in this area."
Cousins is having his greatest season in his fifth NBA campaign, all with the Kings. The 25-year-old American is averaging 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 blocked shots and 1.5 steals a game for Sacramento.
The Kings will be without Cousins on Thursday when they visit Miami. When playing without Cousins, Sacramento has gone 11-37, including 0-4 this season after he missed a handful of games with a strained right Achilles.
At 4-8, the Kings are 12th of 15 teams in the Western Conference. Only four NBA clubs have won fewer games this season than Sacramento, which last reached the playoffs in 2006. – Rappler.com