During Monday's contest between the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder, things got a bit heated after DeMarcus Cousins was ejected from the game due to elbowing Russell Westbrook in the face.
Following the game, Pelicans veteran guard Tony Allen weighed in on the situation, voicing that he believes that Westbrook flopped from the contact that he received from Cousins, according to Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript.
Tony Allen on Cousins' flagrant on Westbrook: "I definitely think he flopped. He took advantage of Cousins’ history. He was going to get the best of that call…You saw him get right back up and miss the free throw. He missed it, so you know what that means. The ball don’t lie."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) November 21, 2017
There is much credence to what Allen has stated as DeMarcus Cousins does have a well-documented history of being a player that often plays with his emotions on his sleeves. The way how things happened on Monday night fell right into the flow of what the All-Star big man has found himself in his entire career.
During the initial unfolding of the situation, it had appeared that Cousins swung his elbow hard at Russell Westbrook, but the replay showed him make some contact with the reigning league MVP's shoulder, then face, in a manner that did not look like much force was used. On top of that, Cousins had immediately stopped once his elbow touched the side of Westbrook's face to which he responded by falling down to the floor.
Although it's clear that Cousins did throw his elbow, the degree of the force and reaction from Westbrook draw some questions.
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