NBA: Cousins unfortunate to be ejected, says Kerr

DeMarcus Cousins was ejected during a big win for the Warriors, but Steve Kerr said there was no malice on his player's part.

Steve Kerr felt DeMarcus Cousins was unfortunate to be ejected for a "random act" in the Golden State Warriors' 137-90 rout of the Charlotte Hornets. 

Cousins was punished with a flagrant foul 2 following a video review, the center having made contact with Willy Hernangomez's head in the second quarter. 

Replay Review (Game Crew): a potential hostile act in Q2 of #CHAatGSW. Ruling: Flagrant foul penalty 2 assessed to Cousins for excessive and unnecessary contact with Hernangomez. pic.twitter.com/SJqByodnfM

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) April 1, 2019

 

Boos reverberated around Oracle Arena after Cousins' premature exit on Sunday, with Warriors head coach Kerr having sympathy for the 28-year-old. 

"It was inadvertent," Kerr said of the incident. "He was trying to box him out, but he had a closed fist, he hit him in the head and so automatic ejection. I haven't seen the replay, though.

"I felt bad for DeMarcus - he was playing well and you hate when something like that happens when it's just a random, you know, random act. There wasn't any malice intended."

Victory for the two-time defending champion clinched a fifth Pacific Division title in a row and Kerr was delighted with the manner in which it achieved the feat. 

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"When they share the ball like they did tonight, it's really pretty to watch," said Kerr. "I thought Kevin [Durant] set a great tone for us in the first quarter just distributing and getting us going. 

"It was a great night; I was really thrilled with the way the bench unit closed the game in the fourth quarter as well. They executed well, defended. It was a really complete game for us."