NBA scores 2014: The Kings are for real and 3 other things we learned Friday night

Sacramento beat Phoenix on the road in double overtime even with DeMarcus Cousins on the bench in extra time, plus three other things we learned on Friday night.

by Liam Boylan-Pett

Nov 8, 2014, 2:09 PM UTC

Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

It's still very, very early in the season, but DeMarcus Cousins can do no wrong. Neither can his Sacramento Kings. On Friday night, Cousins scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Kings beat the Phoenix Suns in double overtime, 114-112. Most impressively, Cousins fouled out with 34 seconds left in regulation. The Kings picked up a win on the road without the help of their star player in overtime to improve to 5-1.

The knock on Cousins has always been his attitude. The worry was that he wouldn’t be a star in the NBA because he wouldn’t try hard enough or his temper would keep him off the court. Cousins is averaging 24.2 points and 11.3 boards per game this season, but against the Suns, it was his character that helped saved the day.

Cousins fouled out with 34 seconds left and the game tied at 99. He was called for an illegal screen. He disagreed with the call, but he exited the court with little fanfare other than a face of disbelief. He was about to take his seat on the bench, but noticed his coach Michael Malone was about to yell at the refs. Cousins jumped out and corralled his coach back to the bench, possibly saving Malone from picking up a technical.

Last year's Boogie Cousins would have had about 10 technical by now. Just from tonight.
— Paul Flannery (@Pflanns) November 8, 2014

Without Cousins, things looked bleak for the Kings. Especially when the Suns were up 106-99 with 3:34 left in the first overtime. But Darren Collison and Ben McLemore led a 7-0 run to send the game to a second overtime, where the Kings once again found themselves down, this time 112-108 with 2:28 to play. Then McLemore hit a three, Rudy gay hit a jumper and Collison hit a free throw to seal it for the Kings.

Sacramento ended the first overtime on a 7-0 run and the second on a 6-0 stretch. This is a resilient bunch and if they keep on playing at this level with this gutsiness, they’re just another team in the loaded west that no team will want to play. There were many opportunities for the Kings to fold against the Suns. They never did.

DeMarcus Cousins has matured and so has this Kings team. Cousins is a force in the NBA, but now, it appears, his teammates are as well. After a win tonight against a 48-win team from a year ago that just missed the playoffs, the Kings are a surprise in this young season that appear ready for the long haul.

DeMarcus Cousins

The force behind the Kings' 5-1 start

Three Other Things We Learned

The Cleveland Cavaliers season will continue to be a roller coaster. The Cavs jumped out to an early lead and held on to beat Denver on the road, 110-101. LeBron James scored 22 points and added 11 assists and 7 rebounds for the Cavs, who, if they play like they did on Friday night, are going to be very tough to beat. But we already knew that. And we know another thing: this season is going to continue to be up and down for the Cavs.

A five-second call helped the Memphis Grizzlies move to 6-0. It hasn't always been pretty for the Grizz (see: Grizzlies 71, Charlotte Hornets 69), but they are now 6-0 after hanging on to beat the depleted yet pesky Oklahoma City Thunder, 91-89. The Thunder had the ball down one with 5.9 seconds left, but Nick Collison didn't inbound the ball soon enough and was whistled for five seconds. Then Serge Ibaka missed a potential game winner as time expired. The Grizz may play to the level of their opponents, but undefeated is undefeated.

The Toronto Raptors want to be among the east's elite. And after dominating the Washington Wizards by 19, it appears they are. The Raptors' defense stifled the Wizards, holding them to just 35 points on 27.9 percent shooting in the first half while DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross had their way on the offensive end, scoring 25 and 18 points respectively. The Raptors are now 5-1 for the first time in team history and tied with Chicago for the best record in the east.

Play of the Night

After hitting the game winner in double OT against the Atlanta Hawks, Lance Stephenson might finally have an in-game .GIF to rival his viral prowess. Nah, just kidding.