Five-Star Review: Run and hide from the Boogie Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins goes off, the Heat take care of business and the Knicks are 2-1!

Our five-star review takes a look at the night in the NBA and lets you know what you missed and how good...or not, it was.

GAME OF THE NIGHT -- KINGS 98 CLIPPERS 92  :  DeMarcus Cousins is Cthulu, destroyer of worlds, and he has come to have his vengeance. Boogie had a monstrous Sunday in a huge Kings win, with what I call a deep-breath stat line. You have to take a deep breath to say all of it. 34 points on 23 shots, 17 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and no technical fouls against one of the most antagonizing teams in the league. 

He was relentless, he was efficient, he was nimble, and quick, and powerful. Cousins was deft in his footwork, smart in his decisions, and a bull god underneath the basket, and along with Rudy Gay and yes, Darren Collison, lead the Kings to a huge road win. 

Cousins was a total monster, but they also held the Clippers, one of the most efficient offenses in the league, to a 95.6 offensive efficiency, well below their average last year. The Kings are seventh in defensive efficiency entering Sunday night's games and really look to know what they're doing on that end of the floor. 

In particular, Darren Collison stepped up in a big way, both in defending Chris Paul, as tough as that is, on plays like this, and hitting huge shots down the stretch. 

Collison nailed a big dagger to make the lead four inside a minute, then sunk key free throws to put the game away. 

For the Clippers, the loss might be the best thing for them. They hadn't really played as well as their 2-0 record, and need something to light a fire under them. They're missing a lot of shots that will eventually fall (J.J. Redick in particular) but they're also not communicating well on defense or finding the right spacing. Blake Griffin can't carry them every night, and Sunday was proof. 

It's too early to take anything away, but there are some promising signs with the purple and black. 

DEMARCUS COUSINS HIGH LOW PASSING : The Kings ran a lot of this last year, but have run even more of it to start this season, and it's a terrific use of his talent as a passer, which is underrated. Observe: 

NIK STAUSKAS, RIM PROTECTOR : No, seriously. 

LINE OF THE NIGHT -- DEMARCUS COUSINS : Can't give it to anyone else, not with 34-17-5-3. 

DeMarcus Cousins was a monster on Sunday. (Getty)

CALL 'EM THE BIG TWO (DWYANE WADE AND CHRIS BOSH) : The dynamic duo with their third tango partner now in Cleveland have lead the Heat to a 3-0 start, and against a tough Raptors squad battling on a back to back, they went to work. 40 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists and two blocks for the pair, and they outclassed an exhausted Raps team. The Heat now have a game lead in establishing tiebreaker on the Raps and Wizards. Yes, it's too early for such talk, but keep in mind these games count just the same as they do in early April if they wind up jostling with those teams for homecourt in the first round. 

GAME OF THE NIGHT RUNNER UP -- KNICKS 96 HORNETS 93: A great game, marred by a terrible call (look below). There was a lot to nitpick about the Knicks' end-game performance as they seemed to mostly stumble into success, but let's be clear. Last year's team was a total disaster. It was depressing to watch that team. This team creates open shots, quality looks, fights hard, and is able to remain competitive. 

I'm not sure the Knicks are good yet, but they are fun, and that counts for something. Also, they're 2-1, so break 'em up! 

The Hornets fall to 1-2, and their only win was over the Bucks after a crazy comeback in overtime. Still, surprisingly in a loss to the Knicks, lots of good things to take away from this one. Lance Stephenson shook loose, Al Jefferson had it going despite some tough defense, and their offense is starting to show signs of life. It may take them a few more weeks, but this was maybe their most encouraging performance of the season despite the loss. 

MELO'S DAGGERS VOL. 2 : Just as he did vs. the Cavaliers, Melo came up big late in the game with a huge shot. He dropped a face-up dagger to put the Knicks up for good vs. the Hornets. Granted, he missed exactly the same kind of shot on the possession before, and then badly airballed a similar possession a second later, but still. The one he hit was the biggest shot of the game. That's two daggers for Melo in two games. 

Oh, and late in the game, he put Lance Stephenson in the spin cycle. 

OFFICIAL'S ABILITY TO COUNT CORRECTLY :  Officials called this five-second call against Charlotte in a tie game inside a minute, effectively sealing the game for the Knicks. When you run it back, the ball is out of Marvin Williams' hands right after the four count, and if you notice closely, the official starts counting before Williams has even grabbed the ball. 

RAZZLE DAZZLE LANCE A LOT  : Lance Stephenson finally broke out of his offensive slump in this game, and made a lot of huge shots for the Hornets, especially getting to the rim in the second half. And he showed his trademark ball-handling. Watch him fake Iman Shumpert completely out of his shorts. 

DON'T WORRY LOIS, JOSH MCROBERTS IS ON HIS WAY AS SOON AS HE FINDS A PHONEBOOTH : 

SURPRISE! (OR, "SLIDE INTO YOUR DMS LIKE..."): 

YAM OF THE NIGHT :  Klay Thompson got paid, but he's still going to get his. 

COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS AND YOU GET NO COFFEE : The Blazers had a one-pont lead with 26 seconds to go. They proceeded to: 

a. turn it over the ball over three times in 26 seconds

b. allow Klay Thompson the winning runner field goal

c. lose by five. 

So that's, you know, not ideal. 

It's been a rough start for the Blazers, who haven't been able to get Damian Lillard's shot going, only got LaMarcus Aldridge going in this game, and still seem to be trying to find the magic of last season. 

For the Warriors, ho-hum, another solid victory, this time on the road vs. a playoff team, and a great, albeit unlikely win.