NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: NUGGETS VS WARRIORS

April 27, 2022

DeMarcus Cousins

Denver Nuggets

Game 5: Postgame

Warriors 102, Nuggets 98

Q. What were you able to find in the 15 minutes of productivity?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: I mean, my coaches just telling me to be aggressive. I mean, that's basically what I went out there and did, tried to take advantage of mismatches.

At the end of the day, man, I'm so proud of this team, man. We showed so much fight. I mean, we could have easily folded after Games 1 and 2. We learned from our mistakes, we bettered ourselves after each game. We left it all on the floor. That's all you can ask for.

Just extremely proud of this group. Just the growth throughout this series, the amount of fight we continued to show.

Q. From everything you contributed to this team since you joined in January, productivity on the court, leadership, what have you proven in these four months?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: I belong here. I belong in this league. I was given the opportunity. I'm thankful for Mike Malone. I spoke with him before. A lot of doors closed for me. Mike looked out, gave me opportunity. I just tried to take the best advantage of it as I could. That's what I did.

Q. When the game got tight there, you needed a bucket, you didn't hesitate. The shot you made, did that make you feel like Boogie is still in me, here I am?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: I mean, my confidence never really went anywhere. I can play this game at a high level. All I ever wanted was an opportunity to do so. Like I said, the opportunity presented itself. I just went out there and played.

Q. Your teammates and coach were complimentary of you before you came in here. You found a role you were able to be effective in. Do you feel like you want to be back given the fact that Nikola is going to be the starter here or do you feel you have larger ambitions?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: I honestly don't know what the future holds. A lot in this short time has transpired. I'm still trying to get over the fact that G.P. hit that big shot, right?

Like I said, I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity. I'm happy to be a part of this group. I'm happy with the opportunity that was given to me from Mike, Tim, Booth.

To answer that question, I can't right now. I don't know what's future holds.

Q. DeMarcus, seemed like you played your best defensive game in the series. What stands out from that?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: Just the fight, the physicality. Like I say, I think we got better and better as the series went on. The assignments got a little easier. The matchups got a little easier. We understood what they were looking for, we understood where we had to be, certain things we had to do to stop them at the other end.

Obviously we came up short. That's an incredible team over there. They've basically dominated the past decade of basketball. They're battle-tested, been on the biggest stages, been here before. Like I said, I'm proud of this group. We left it all on the floor.

Q. DeMarcus, do you have a different appreciation or do you view Nikola differently now after spending the last several months with him?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: I've always respected him. Only reason he was even on my radar, just being honest, he's an incredible talent. Probably one of the best, outside of Russ, probably one of the most disrespected MVPs in this league. Incredible, incredible talent. I mean, his game speaks for itself.

Q. Why do you say he's one of the most disrespected MVPs?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: He doesn't get treated like an MVP. Every game, he's leaving the game scratched up, bruised up. He may get eight free throws. Sucks. But even through that he plays, he dominates the game. I just don't feel like he really gets the respect that he deserves on a nightly basis.

Q. What can this team be like with a healthy Jamal and Michael?

DEMARCUS COUSINS: Potential is scary. That's another reason we're so proud of this group. We down two superstars. Like I say, we took one of the most dominant teams this past decade, we battled every night with them.

The potential is scary. Obviously it looks good on paper, but we got to put everything together. We'll see what happens.