SACRAMENTODeMarcus Cousins is a man of many talents, many of which were on display in Sacramento's 118-96 thumping of the Boston Celtics.
The talented but at times troubled big man delivered his first career triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds as the Kings (11-19) won at home for the sixth time in their last seven games.
With the rumors swirling that the Celtics have some interest in making a run at Cousins, Sunday's performance was just the kind of audition that has Celtics Nation salivating at the thought of him teaming up with Kevin Garnett in the frontcourt.
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But it was the kind of game that justifies Sacramento's reluctance to make him available despite having to discipline him repeatedly for various team-related offenses.
And when he has guys around him knocking down shots, it makes him all that more difficult to deal with.
"That's why he was able to pick up 10 assists, because guys were setting up outside," said Kings forward John Salmons who had 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field. "Hopefully it'll get to the point where they can't double-team players because guys are making open 3s and that'll make it easier for Cousins to get in the lane."
Meanwhile, the Celtics (14-16) slip even further below .500 with the loss which will only extend the grumbling among Celtics Nation for the C's to do something to shake up their roster - like aggressively pursue a player like Cousins.
While he has had his share of problems in Sacramento, the one thing that has never been an issue is his talent.
When you look at the C's roster and see what Cousins brings to the floor talent-wise, it's hard to imagine the Celtics can put together a package that would entice the Kings to part with arguably one of the most talented big men in the NBA and wouldn't debilitate the C's core group.
His ability to score and rebound is well documented. But on Sunday he displayed the kind of court vision that speaks volumes about how talented he is now.
And the scary part is that he's just 22 years old.
Even though the Kings led most of the night, it was Cousins' play in the second half that put the Celtics away.
"Down the stretch is where Cousins just took the game over," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "We didn't want to trap and that's a great example of what we're doing defensively."
When too much attention was paid to Cousins, he wisely found teammates for lay-ups or open jumpers.
"We can absorb one big scoring," Rivers said. "But you can't when you start trapping and then everybody gets involved."