SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The end of this season is beginning to feel a lot like the end of Paul Westphal coaching era in Sacramento.

There are obvious issues between DeMarcus Cousins and coach Keith Smart, like there were with Westphal.

And just like the end of Westphal's time before he was fired early in the 2011-12 season, Cousins found himself in an unusual spot � coming off the bench.

Cousins played just nine minutes - all in the second quarter - of the Kings' 117-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at Sleep Train Arena.

Cousins was benched Friday for the first time this season when healthy and dressed for a game. Smart left Cousins in Sacramento for a road game in Portland as part of discipline for a verbal altercation in Los Angeles.

Smart offered no reason benching Cousins and not playing him at all in the second half.

"It was my decision," Smart said. "A coach's decision."

Cousins said there was no need to have a talk with Smart about the decision.

"Nope," Cousins said. "It's his decision."

Cousins was then asked was he given a reason for the benching.

"I don't have to be given a reason why," Cousins said. "He's the coach."

Cousins then described how he found out he was not starting.

"I walked into shootaround and he was like 'Tyreke, Isaiah, John, Patrick and J.T., y'all starting,'" Cousins said. "That's how it went.'"

Cousins was asked if he expected to start Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

"You never know," Cousins said.

What is known that Cousins yelled at Smart after fouling out of Wednesday's game and the Smart did not take too kindly to it.

Cousins has also been frustrated with Smart's substitution patterns, most notably two games last month in Oakland where he didn't play at all in the fourth quarter.

Cousins said he didn't know if or when he'd play in the second half.

"I wasn't expecting anything," Cousins said. "If it happened, it happened.

If it didn't, it didn't."

Cousins played in the second quarter, when the Mavs scored 41 points, to match the most allowed by the Kings in a quarter this season.

It was part of a poor defensive effort that saw Dallas (37-39) score 99 points in the final three quarters and shoot 38 of 67 (56.7 percent) over that span.

Besides Cousins, Marcus Thornton also did not play in the second half.

Smart said there was no back story to that decision, and that he simply decided to go with a different lineup.

"It was a coaching thing and we lost the game so hey, I'll take the blame,"

Smart said. "Every loss that we have I'll take the blame, I have (49) of them."

Some of the Kings were surprised not to see Cousins or Thornton in the second half, too.

"It was tough but I mean you have to be ready," said guard Tyreke Evans.

"You're professionals so when Coach calls your name ... you have to be ready."

Isaiah Thomas led the Kings (27-49), who have lost three in a row, with 29 points. Evans had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Jason Thompson started at center for Cousins and had 16 points and a season-high 16 rebounds.

Patrick Patterson started at power forward, Thompson's normal spot.

Cousins finished with six points and two rebounds.

Et cetera � Sunday's game against Memphis will be "Red Night Out" in support of the American Heart Association and the Jason Thompson Foundation. Fans are encouraged to wear red in support of heart disease awareness.

Thompson was inspired to start his foundation afher his cousin, Tiffany Carroll, 25, passed in 2010 from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

Thompson's foundation focuses on creating healthy lifestyles for children and young adults.

Tickets to Sunday's game will also include a Thompson bobblehead.

Players wore green headbands, wristbands and special shooting shirts as part of NBA Green Week to promote environmental awareness.

The shooting shirts are made of 100 percent organic cotton while the wristbands and headbands are made from 45 percent organic cotton.

• Read more articles by JASON JONES

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