Buddy Hield Ejected From Game for Nailing DeMarcus Cousins in the Groin

Pelicans guard Buddy Hield got ejected from a game on Sunday night for hitting DeMarcus Cousins below the belt.

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Pelicans guard Buddy Hield was ejected from the first game of his NBA career on Sunday night, and he got tossed for doing something pretty insane. During the second quarter of the Pelicans/Kings game, he blatantly punched DeMarcus Cousins in the groin while fighting around a screen that the Sacramento big man set.

As you can see in the clip above, Cousins reacted to the shot by yelling "He grabbed my nuts!" at the game’s referees, which prompted an official review and led to Hield’s ejection. After the game, Hield tried to downplay it by saying he didn’t do it on purpose. "Nothing was intentional," Hield said. "DeMarcus sold it. Then on slow-motion [replay], it looks worse than it is."

But it you watch the replay just one time, it seems pretty obvious that Hield was trying to send a message to Cousins. A message that came across loud and clear.

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Hield was handed a flagrant 2 foul for the hit and will likely be issued a fine sometime Monday. It came just minutes after Cousins picked up a technical foul of his own for hitting Pelicans center Donatas Motiejunas in the face during the first quarter of the game. It was Cousins’ 17th technical foul of the season, and he will receive an automatic suspension, his second of the year, if he picks up one more tech.

"I can’t be myself. Me playing the way I play is what makes me the player I am," Cousins said after the game. "I’m trying to find a way to do what these guys are asking me to do. Obviously what I’ve been doing is unacceptable. It’s not easy, but I’m trying to find a way."

Cousins scored 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out seven assists during the Kings’ 105-99 win over the Pelicans. But those incredible stats and the Sacramento win were overshadowed by the shot he took from Hield as well as the tech he picked up.

Sacramento will be back on the court to take on the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

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