Cousins drops 27 and 11, misses potential game-winner in return vs. Bucks

Call it a bittersweet return for DeMarcus Cousins. 

After sitting out the last 10 games with viral meningitis - during which his Sacramento Kings went 2-8 and head coach Mike Malone lost his job - Cousins finally got back on the floor Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

While the Kings were celebrating getting their franchise player back, the Bucks were bemoaning the loss of one of theirs, having seen Rookie of the Year frontrunner Jabari Parker go down for the season with a torn ACL. 

But it was the Bucks who prevailed in the end, overcoming a dominant individual performance from Cousins to squeak out a 108-107 win in a game that featured 14 ties, 10 lead changes and came down to the final buzzer.  

In his first game back, Cousins scored 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished five assists. With the game in his hands, though, he couldn't connect on a fadeaway from 18-feet out, after the Bucks defense snuffed out a drive. Cousins' shot hit front iron just as the buzzer sounded, and the Kings fell to 11-15.