Boogie Cousins made his long-awaited debut as Golden State Warrior, and by all accounts, the getting was good. The former NBA All-Star contributed an efficient stat line of 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three 3-pointers in 15 minutes of action. Incidentally, Cousins was forced out of the game, not as a precautionary measure, but due to foul trouble: his sixth and final strike coming with 8 minutes, 51 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth.
The home crowd at the Staples Centers resorted to booing Cousins the moment he touched the ball at the onset of the game. But at nights end, Cousins left to a standing ovation, a fitting a sendoff for a player who hadn't played an NBA game in over a year. Cousins nonetheless joked that his standing O was probably "the fakest love" he'd ever received in his life, but he'll take it nonetheless. "It's been a long journey. This is probably one of the best days of my life," he told the media in the post-game scrum.
"I'm just glad to know that I can still dunk," Cousins continued. "It felt good. I never in a million years thought that would be my first basket playing ball again."
Cousins' performance last night is being perceived in a positive light, especially when masked by a thunderous dunk in the 1st quarter, his first in a Dubs' uniform. Steph Curry, who watched the play unfold from the perimeter, parlayed his astonishment for Boogie when asked to describe "the dunk" in his own words. "It was like poetry, man. It was awesome. You could see his reaction," Curry said in passing. Incidentally, the Warriors held on for the 112-94 win, at the final buzzer.