Golden State Warriors: DeMarcus Cousins involved in new controversy

The Golden State Warriors narrowly escaped with a win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night, but DeMarcus Cousins may have gotten himself into some trouble.

On Sunday night, the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors battled in what turned out to be a surprisingly exciting game. The final minutes of this showdown were filled with wild moments, but one situation, in particular, involving DeMarcus Cousins has caused some lasting controversy.

See, this game came down to the wire. With under a minute to play, Dwyane Wade converted on a steal and fast-break layup to give the Heat a one-point lead. Moments later, Josh Richardson stole the ball and scored again for the Heat, putting them up by three points with 51 seconds to play.

Despite this great sequence for Miami, the Warriors were not finished yet. Kevin Durant came down the court and drilled a step back 3-pointer to tie the game.

This is where things began to get weird. When the Heat failed to score on their next trip, the Warriors had a chance to take the lead. Durant was given the ball near half court and as he attempted to utilize an on-ball screen from Cousins, KD mishandled the ball and picked up his dribble.

For a brief moment, Durant seemingly had both hands on the ball before continuing his dribble with one hand. This should have been called a traveling violation, but instead, the referee’s missed it and allowed the play to continue.

As the play progressed, Durant attempted a contested pull-up 3-pointer that clanked off the rim. Luckily, Cousins was in a position to grab the rebound and force Miami to foul him. Cousins hit both free throws and gave the Warriors a two-point lead.

The last play of the game is the one that has everyone talking now. The Miami Heat had the ball with 5 seconds remaining and were trying to win the game or force overtime. Richardson slipped and fell out of bounds, directly in front of the Warriors bench.

Now, players fall out of bounds all the time and it’s no big deal. However, in a post-game interview, Richardson said that someone on the Warriors bench was holding him down and not allowing him to re-enter the play.

It didn’t take long for fans on Twitter to post footage of the last play. In the clip, you can clearly see Cousins make some sort of contact with Richardson as he tumbles onto the floor.

Some people believe that this is Cousins trying to hold Richardson down and keep him away from the court. In my opinion, it looks more like Boogie is bracing himself as Richardson collides with his shins. This is even more justified as it appears that Cousins even helps him up and nudges him back onto the court.

Obviously, it is hard to see what actually happened, but it’s clear that many fans have chosen not to give Cousins the benefit of the doubt. Some are even calling for a suspension from the league.

It is unlikely that the league will take any action on this situation but it is certainly interesting to watch how even the slightest sign of foul play can be blown out of proportion for the Warriors.