The Los Angeles Lakers swapped DeMarcus Cousins’ rankings for Markieff Morris in February. In Cousins’ first game against his former team on Sunday, he and Morris had a fickle exchange.
Neither player finally completed the match.
Morris and Cousins were asked for double technical fouls with 2:15 left in the first quarter of the Houston Rockets game against LA because they were in a shift fight after Morris’ blatant foul 1 on Jae’Sean Tate, which the Rockets ‘s forward. extended to the ground.
Morris was ousted for the offense after taking revenge on Cousins’ body control, which dropped him to the floor by accusing Cousins of pushing him while helping Tate.
Not long after, Cousins was also ousted early in the second quarter when he was asked for a flagrant offense 2 for hitting LeBron James in the head. The shot turns out to be coincidental as Cousins tried to strip James of the ball while the Lakers star drove to the basket. However, the referees ruled that Cousins’ liquidation and follow-up deserved a flagrant 2-call and automatic eviction. Cousins has been ousted twice over the past four games of the Rockets. He was asked in two minutes and 53 seconds for two technical fouls to fall out in the defeat against Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers signed Cousins in the summer of 2019 to recreate the success of the front field he had with Anthony Davis on the New Orleans Pelicans. However, the former All-Star center never played a game for LA after tearing the ACL in his left knee. during a pickup game.
Cousins was relegated in February to sign a roster for Morris, who reached a purchase agreement with the Detroit Pistons and was on the market.
Morris was instrumental during the Lakers Championship and ironically played his most effective ball in the second round against Houston when he scored 16 points in the second game to tie the series 1-1 and 16 points again in the fifth game to to close the Rockets.
Although Cousins was not on the Lakers play-off schedule, his name was still sketched in every Lakers championship ring. The Lakers plan to offer Cousins a championship series when they host the Rockets later this season at Staples Center, league sources told ESPN.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.