DeMarcus Cousins Wins Battle of Bigs With Joel Embiid

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SACRAMENTO -- On a night when DeMarcus Cousins praised Joel Embiid (see story), the mutual appreciation for takeover abilities was felt on the Sixers side. 

Cousins' locked in the Kings' 102-100 win over the Sixers with two decisive plays: a go-ahead trey with 20.9 seconds to go and a block against Embiid's three-point attempt with 3.8 to go (see Instant Replay). 

"He's just such a bull and he forces himself into so many physical traffic situations and it exposes fouls," Brett Brown said. "He is really hard to defend."

Cousins' late-game three was his second of the game. He maximized a defensive mismatch and drained it over a 6-foot-2 T.J. McConnell. 

"We ended up with a late switch and it was probably a step too late," Brown said. "T.J. reacted about a step too slow and that's what a seven-foot center can do when he can just catch it and rise up." 

Cousins finished with 30 points (10 for 20 from the field, 2 for 4 from three, 8 for 9 from the free throw line), seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks, five turnovers and four fouls in 34 minutes.

"He's good," Embiid said. "He scored when it mattered." 

The Kings' centerpiece used his size to counter Embiid on the final possession of the game. Cousins was credited for swatting Embiid's long-range attempt. Embiid believed there was contact on the play. He said Cousins touched his elbow while he was shooting.  

"I feel like they're going to go back and watch it and they'll probably going to think that it was a foul," Embiid said.
 
The play was deemed a block and the Kings held on behind Cousins' defensive lockdown. Kings head coach Dave Joerger credited Cousins for understanding their success starts with defense. They extended their win streak to four games. 

"We're starting to realize what's going to win games for us, and it's not who can score the most points or highlights or whatever the case may be," Cousins said. "But it's us playing defense, us getting stops, us getting stops in a row."