DeMarcus Cousins said the reason he was ejected for a flagrant foul Monday night was because Russell Westbrook "did a good job of selling" it.

The Pelicans' center was thrown out of Monday's 114-107 win over the Thunder when he made contact with the head and neck area of Westbrook after pulling down a rebound in the third quarter.

In the video it's not clear whether Cousins actually hit Westbrook in the head, or if he even swung his elbow intentionally, but it certainly looked suspicious and violent enough for a Flagrant-2 foul to be assessed on the play which resulted in Cousins' ejection.

Oklahoma City had been complaining recently about how they were not being officiated fairly and that they were not getting calls for hard fouls. Westbrook himself complained about one foul in particular which elicited a somewhat sarcastic quote from coach Billy Donovan. He said he "probably didn't ask Russell to stay down on the court long enough to get it reviewed." 

On Monday, when Cousins made contact with Westbrook, he was on the ground for an extended time holding his head. The Pelicans' center had plenty to say about that.

"It shows that Russ is coachable," Cousins said. "He listens and they got what they've been working on."

Cousins took no responsibility for the play, simply stating that what he did was how he was taught to play the game.

"It's crazy. When you start playing the game of basketball as a big man, they tell you, `When you get a rebound, keep your elbows high and out,' you know, to protect the ball from guards coming in stripping," he told reporters at Tuesday's practice via ESPN. "All I did was use my fundamentals and I got punished for it."