Two extremely large men duked it out for close to 30 minutes on Thursday night, as Jonas Valanciunas' Toronto Raptors toppled DeMarcus Cousins' New Orleans Pelicans.
Though Cousins' counting stats were gaudier - he had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists to Valanciunas' seven, 13, and two - and though he embarrassed Valanciunas with an ankle-breaking step-back, it was the Lithuanian big man who won the war. Valanciunas flummoxed and frustrated Cousins for most of the night, ceding nothing at the rim, and helping force him into 8-of-24 shooting and seven turnovers.
One of those turnovers came when Cousins lowered his shoulder into Valanciunas' chest and got whistled for an offensive foul. Cousins, who was displeased with the officiating all night (at one point picking up a technical from the bench), suggested Valanciunas had sold the foul by embellishing the contact.
"He's great at that," Cousins told reporters after the game.
Valanciunas stumbled backward when Cousins tried to back him down, but did not fall over. When alerted of Cousins' comment, he bristled at the suggestion.
"I've never flopped in my life," Valanciunas told Daniel Reynolds of Raptors HQ.
These two already have a bit of bad blood between them, having very nearly come to blows while battling under the basket during the FIBA World Cup back in 2014.
They won't have to wait long for a rematch. The Raptors and Pelicans will square off again in New Orleans in just six days.
