The enigmatic DeMarcus Cousins was at his absolute Boogie best Monday night, but even the franchise-record 56 points the Kings star piled up were too few to keep the Hornets from coming away with a thrilling 129-128 double-overtime win in Sacramento.
Cousins, who had a 48-point effort two nights prior, enjoyed the performance of his career, shooting 21 of 30 from the field and hauling in 12 rebounds. His point total was a career high, and the most by any player in the NBA this season. Only three other players in the past 30 years have logged back-to-back games of at least 45 points and 10 rebounds — Antawn Jamison, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.
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His work was undermined when Cousins fouled out of the game with 3:30 to play in the second overtime. He was called for an offensive foul after grabbing a rebound, headed to the bench in a headband-tossing fit and could have been called for his second technical foul of the night.
Boogie Gone. pic.twitter.com/JjFsJVj6iH
— Steven J. Gaither (@stevenjgaither) January 26, 2016The Kings held a 126-124 lead at the time, but deflated under the weight of Cousins' absence.
Four Hornets players topped 20 points, led by 28 from Troy Daniels off the bench. Daniels' 3-pointer with 9.0 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner.
Cousins sidekick Rajon Rondo chipped in 20 assists and 10 rebounds, but only managed seven points.
Despite the loss, Cousins' performance continued what has been a spectacular January in which he's averaging 34.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. He has had eight 30-10 games this month.
