It's hard to determine which of Evans or Cousins were more out of control early in the game. Cousins eventually loosened up and start hitting jumpers, and despite his perilous drives he drew a bunch of fouls and hit eight of the team's 20 free throws. The final line for him read 18 points on 5-13 shooting with nine rebounds and two turnovers, easily the best performance of any King. That he fought and fought in the hopeless fourth was reaffirming, and terrific.

But he still felt completely … unsettled all game. His rough second quarter did as much to dig the Kings' hole as anything else. He has a long way to go.

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