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Cousins accuses Anderson of flopping: 'That's not basketball'

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

Ryan Anderson was bound to have his hands full trying to defend DeMarcus Cousins in the fourth quarter Friday night, and he came away a bit dinged up.

On three possessions in the game's final three-odd minutes, Anderson came away in some measure of pain after trying to body Cousins in the post. He appeared to take an elbow to the side of the head, catch the back of Cousins' head on the chin, and twist his ankle after Cousins landed on his foot.

The first and last of those incidents triggered replay reviews, as officials looked for evidence of a flagrant foul. They found none in either case. Cousins suggested that was because Anderson was flopping.

"Flop, review, flop, review, flop, review," Cousins explained after the game, according to ESPN's Justin Verrier.

"It is tough, and it's unfair," said Cousins, who's long felt he gets a raw deal from referees. "But it is what it is, man. That's not basketball."

Anderson said he was just doing his best to frustrate Cousins with physicality, and that the bumps and bruises were the cost of doing business.

"I want to be physical," Anderson said. "With DeMarcus, he's a guy, he's such an elite player, when he gets frustrated it's when he's at his worst. It's part of the game plan to get DeMarcus frustrated, and the moment he realizes that he'll be that much better of a player. You want to get into him. You want to make him frustrated and that's what I tried to do tonight. If it takes a few hits to the face, that's what it takes."

Cousins felt Anderson was just looking for an excuse to get off his feet and avoid the defensive assignment.

"They never found anything, but they kept running back to review," Cousins said. "He just kept falling. He did it the entire game. He just flopped. He didn't want to defend - that's one thing. He's known for not wanting to defend, so he just falls. It's terrible, man."

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