DeMarcus Cousins’ Historic Triple-Double Against The Bulls Caught LeBron James’ Attention

You know how sometimes DeMarcus Cousins is prone to imposing himself on a basketball game and spends 48 minutes just dragging an opponent? Well, the Pelicans and the Bulls went into double overtime on Monday night, which meant that Cousins got to play 52 of a possible 58 minutes and threw down an insane box score en route to a 132-128 win.

Cousins went out and scored 44 points on 13-for-29 shooting with a 5-for-11 clip from three and a near-perfect 13-for-14 from the free throw line. He also tore down 24 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. It was a comprehensive performance from Cousins, who every once in a while reminds you why he is among the most dominant and uniquely-talented centers in the NBA.

In fact, what Cousins did on Monday night was historic. He was on the verge of doing something special when he slapped a 30-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game, but once he crossed the 40-point threshold, Cousins entered Wilt Chamberlain territory.

According to basketball-reference, the list of players to go for 40/20/10 in a game are Chamberlain (four times), Oscar Robertson (once), and now, Cousins. Additionally, here’s the list of every NBA player to go for 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game this season.

With the win, the Pelicans move to 25-21 on the year and are sitting pretty in sixth place in the Western Conference. For a team that came into the season with questions about whether it would be wise to trade Cousins, New Orleans is just humming along. Of course, if the team does decide it can be talked into making a move that gets rid of Cousins’ expiring deal, at least one guy was impressed with what he saw tonight.

Hey, you never know.