BASKETBALL/DeMarcus Cousins rises, Leopards leap to top of T1 LEAGUE

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) DeMarcus Cousins needed only one quarter on Jan. 21 to outperform his fatigued 13-point debut in Taiwan, lifting the Leopards to the top of the T1 LEAGUE.

In his second home game with the Leopards in Taoyuan, the four-time NBA All-Star played about 31 minutes, accumulating 25 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks, including 14 points in the first quarter. This led the Leopards to a 105-85 victory over the New Taipei CTBC DEA, setting a new franchise-record six-game winning streak.

Both teams had five players with at least 10 points. Edgaras Zelionis led New Taipei with 24 points and eight rebounds in the team's second loss in three games.

Unlike his sluggish start on Jan. 20 against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks, Boogie displayed his long-range shooting caliber, making three of four three-pointers to establish a 37-25 lead for Taiwan Beer in the opening quarter.

Although the DEA made it a one-possession game on a 14-4 run in the second quarter, the Leopards were always able to punch back, including Cousins twice muscling his way to the paint for buckets that brought over 5,500 spectators to their feet.

The Leopards entered the second half 57-47 on Lasan Kromah's buzzer-beating three before pulling out a 27-16 third quarter to set the tone of the game, seeing the team's lead extend to a maximum of 29 points.

In a postgame interview, Cousins said the jet lag was less severe but he still "felt not like myself" and was "struggling to sleep at night.

"Doing the ice bath earlier, I was able to take a two-hour nap before the game. Being able to do this definitely helped me prepare for the game," he said, adding that he believed he will feel better as the day goes on.

The progress Cousins made in just his second game led people to wonder what will come next as he builds better chemistry with Taiwan Beer.

Leopards point guard Chiang Yu-an (蔣淯安), the 2022-23 T1 LEAGUE all-star, had high praise for Cousins' will and ability to create opportunities for the team.

"Cousins, after rebounding, launches the pass very soon and with rather good timing, and that brought us many more fast break opportunities," Chiang said, adding that the team had better defense in the two games with Boogie's addition.

Prior to Cousins' arrival in Taiwan on Jan. 18, the Leopards yielded 104.2 points per game, the second worst in the league. The team gave up only 85 and 90 points in the past two games.

It might be too early to compare Boogie's impact with that of Dwight Howard, who played 20 games for the Leopards in the 2022-23 season, but Leopards veteran Cheng Wei (鄭瑋) already has an answer.

One of the few Taiwanese players who ever played with both Howard and Cousins, Cheng said that the latter can bring more impact to the game because he "plays better team basketball and is willing to pass the ball instead of stat padding," per TSNA.

However, the two joined the Leopards under different circumstances.

Whereas Howard joined the Leopards just before he turned 37, Cousins is only 33. While Howard had only one Taiwanese player, Lu Chieh-min (盧捷閔), who averaged double-figure scoring per game, Cousins has three, including Chiang, whom Howard said he would like to play with if he were to return to the Leopards.

For the Leopards, the question now goes to how long Cousins will stay.

Currently, Cousins is contracted to play a total of five games with the Leopards, including a cross-league exhibition game with the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers in the P.LEAGUE+ (PLG) on Jan. 30, but Cheng believes he may stay longer.

"Although he did not bring as much laughter as Dwight, he asked our names before he came ... He doesn't need to do that if he just wants to play here short term," Cheng was quoted as saying by TSNA.

The Leopards will host the Kaohsiung Aquas and GhostHawks at Taoyuan Arena on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, both tipping off at 4:30 p.m.

Also on Jan. 21, two-time PLG regular-season MVP Yang Chin-min (楊敬敏) made his season debut for the New Taipei Kings after finishing a 15-game suspension.

Yang played 29:37 off the bench and dropped 15 points in the Kings' 110-97 home court triumph over the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers.

New Taipei is on a three-game winning streak and placed second in the PLG, behind the Formosa Dreamers due to a lower winning percentage.