DeMarcus Cousins on benching: 'I messed up'

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was benched for the second half against the Clippers on Friday and after the game Cousins said he messed up and was in the wrong.

Cousins was benched for what Kings head coach Keith Smart called "conduct detrimental to the team." Cousins and Smart were seen arguing on the bench and reportedly got into a verbal altercation at halftime. While Cousins wouldn't elaborate on what happened at halftime, he admitted he was wrong and called the situation humbling. Cousins said he apologized to his teammates for the way he responded and will grow from the mistake. As for what he can to do avoid a similar situation, Cousins provided a simple solution.

"Don't talk back. That's the thing. I shouldn't have responded back. Should have accepted what was said and stayed quiet," Cousins said, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

Cousins played 20 minutes during the first half on Friday and Smart was noncommittal asked whether Cousins would play Saturday against the Portland Trailblazers. Instead, Smart said he was going to focus on Friday's game then move forward to the next day.