Rudy Gay Goes Down With Torn Achilles, The DeMarcus Cousins Administration Finishes 1-6 On 7-Game Ho
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. – Rudy Gay, wearing grey sweatpants and a hoodie, slowly walked into the Sacramento Kings' locker room on crutches and wearing a secured walking boot on his left foot.
He didn’t say a word to anyone, including his teammates or the local media that watched in awe. The locker room was in complete silence as Gay gathered a few of his belongings from his locker and headed out the door with a disappointing look on his face.
With 14.3 seconds left in the third quarter, while the Sacramento Kings were ahead of the Indiana Pacers 79-69, Gay went down to the floor after making a pass, and then started pointing toward his left foot. It was not a pleasant scene at all.
Officials for the Kings said preliminary evaluation by their medical staff indicates Gay may have suffered a torn left Achilles’ tendon. A MRI is scheduled for Jan. 19 to confirm the diagnosis. Gay’s teammates DeMarcus Cousins was one the players who assisted him off the court.
“That’s a tough thing to watch, man. It sucks for Rudy,” Cousins said after the game. “This is a big year for him obviously and it sucks that this is how it played out. Put the team to the side, the whole season, whatever. It’s just him as a man right now. I hate it for him. It sucks, man. It really does. I spoke to him and told him I'll keep you in my prayers.”
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner won this battle of the boards against Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, No. 15. Publicity Agents photo art T. Ray Harvey. Jan. 18, 2017.
When Cousins emphasized “how it played out,” his comment described an unthinkable three-fold situation. The Kings lost to the Pacers 106-100 at G1C, finished a seven-game homestand with a 1-6 record, and now face an eight-game road trip in 12 days.
The Kings lead by as many as 22 point and Gay had 21 points, four rebounds, two steals, and one-block in 28 minutes on the floor. Cousins finished the game with a triple-double, recording 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocked shots.
The Kings made 23-of-36 shots for 63.9 percent in the first half to lead 60-41 at the break. Cousins had 19 points in the first half while Gay knocked down 16 points. The Kings had 11 turnovers in the first half, but outrebounded the Pacers 24-11.
After Gay’s exit, the Pacers (22-19, 6-18 road) trailed 79-71 to end the the third quarter. Indiana, on their first of three road games, outscored the Kings 30-19 in the fourth quarter, led by point guard Jeff Teague’s 11 points.
Rudy Gay, with the basketball, may be out a little while. He's schedule for a MRI on Jan. 19 to confirm the extent of a torn left Achilles' tendon he suffered against the Indiana Pacers. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Nov. 18, 2016.
Paul George also made a key 3-point shot to give Indiana a 101-98 lead with 1:34 left to play. The Kings cut the lead two points after Cousins made one of two free throws, but the Pacers sealed on a dunk by Myles Turner and two free throws by George with 1.9 seconds left in the game.
“We just had to gut and grind,” George said of the Pacers’ rally. “That’s all it comes down to is staying around, staying sound, and solid one basket at a time. It worked.”
George had 24 points, four rebounds, and three assists while Teague added 22 points, 11 assists, and two steals. Al Jefferson gave the Pacers 16 quality minutes and ended with 20 points off the bench.
“What you do when you have a low post threat is you control tempo,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said of Jefferson. “I thought he did a great job in that.”
As for the Kings, the loss stopped a four-game winning streak against the Pacers and continued a losing one. Sacramento is on a three-game losing stretch and have lost five of their last six games to start a cold-blooded road trip.
The Kings (16-25, 8-13 G1C) won’t be back in Sacramento until Feb. 3 when they play the Phoenix Suns. It’s highly likely that they will board a charter flight without Gay and play that home game without him as well.
“We'll know more (Jan. 19),” Collison said of Gay’s situation. Collison had 11 points and nine assists in the Kings loss to Indiana. “But that's the story of the ball game, right now. One guy goes down and we all got to step up.”
By T. Ray Harvey | PA Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist
Twitter: Tony Ray Harvey @PublicityAgents
Publicity Agents’ PRESS INFORMATION:
The DeMarcus Cousins Administration — Boogie needs one more game to move into a three-way tie for the most games played Kings’ Sacramento era. Cousins has 453 games played while Vlade Divac and Lionel Simmons sit a 454.
Ty Lawson was in the locker room and spoke to reporters. He said he expects to play in the Kings' next game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 20. Lawson tweaked his ankle against the Oklahoma Thunder on Jan. 15 at G1C. He had averaged 15 points in his last five games before the injury.
Kings shooting guard Arron Afflalo on Rudy Gay's injury: "It's tough. It's an injury that's obviously tough to handle, but he'll recover. He loves the and he's still young. I don't know if they've determined exactly how long it'll be and what it is, but he'll be find. At the end of the day, as a team, we'll keep competing. We'll compete for him. More than likely, (he'll) come back stronger than ever."
Sacramento Kings point guard Darren Collison, No. 7, tries to get clarification from NBA official Josh Tiven. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Jan. 15, 2017.
T. Ray (Antonio) Harvey is a Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist for Publicity Agents. Harvey is also the author of The HOMICIDAL HANDYMAN OF OAK PARK: MORRIS SOLOMON JR.
