Cousins fined, nearly ejected, scores 55 in Kings win over Blazers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins returned from a brief ejection and finished with a season-high 55 points, capping a wild day for the hot-tempered big man and sending the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-121 on Tuesday night.

Hours after he was fined by the Kings for his profanity-laced tirade against a newspaper columnist last week, Cousins pulled down 13 rebounds and rallied Sacramento in the fourth quarter.

He made two huge 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the fourth to avenge an earlier overtime loss this season in Portland. The win snapped Sacramento’s seven-game losing streak to the Blazers.

It appeared Cousins’ night was over before the game had ended. In the final minute, he put the Kings back in front when he drove the lane for a layup and was fouled by Mason Plumlee.

Cousins initially was given a second technical foul and ejected for spitting his mouth piece in the direction of Portland’s bench after making the shot. He ran into the locker room, but the officials huddled and changed the call.

Cousins returned to the court and made the free throw for a three-point play, giving the Kings a 122-119 lead with 35 seconds left.