Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins had his night cut short Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets when he was tossed in the second quarter for what was deemed a Flagrant 2 foul against Hornets center Willy Hernangomez. Cousins was jockeying for position underneath the basket but got his forearm up around the head and neck area of Hernangomez, which led to the officiating staff deciding that it was time for Cousins' night to come to an end.
Here's the Cousins forearm that the refs deemed worthy of a flagrant 2 and automatic ejection (video via @NBCSWarriors) pic.twitter.com/UBX5PyDhwf
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 1, 2019
Andrew Bogut was summoned off the bench to start the second half in place of Cousins, with Golden State having entered the break with a 22-point lead.
Prior to his ejection, Cousins collected eight points, three rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal across 11 minutes, shooting 3-for-4 from the floor. Getting tossed early is certainly one way of managing minutes on the cusp of the postseason, albeit not in the way that Golden State has traditionally curtailed the minutes of their big man, who entered the night averaging just 26 minutes per game this season as he makes his way back from an Achilles tear.
Cousins' absence from the second half made little difference, as the Warriors pulled away without him. His next chance to take the floor comes Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets in a blockbuster showdown between the Western Conference's top two seeds. The Warriors have previously made it well known that home-court advantage is not their end all, be all in 2018-19, although a victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday would move them one step closer to earning the top seed.
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