SACRAMENTO -- Disaster. The Sacramento Kings stumbled down the stretch against the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center and fell by a final of 106-100. But the bad news didn’t end there.
Veteran forward Rudy Gay went down in a heap in the late third quarter and the scene wasn’t good. The mood in the building was somber as the preliminary report revealed a torn left Achilles for Gay.
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Veteran Al Jefferson kept the Pacers in the game early, scoring 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting and grabbing three rebounds.
The Kings made a concerted effort to slow Paul George and for the most part, they found success early. But with Gay sidelined Indiana’s All-Star wing got it going, finishing the night with 24 points and four rebounds.
Jeff Teague turned on the jets in the second half. The veteran point guard attacked the rim to come away with 22 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Myles Turner added 16 points in the win.
With the ball flowing from one side to the next, Rudy Gay found space to break free from Paul George. The 30-year-old forward finished the night with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting and grabbed four rebounds before going down in the late third quarter.
NBA
DeMarcus Cousins put on a show. The two-time All-Star big man attacked the Pacers in the post, hit the glass hard and found open teammates for easy looks. The end result was a 24-point, 12-rebounds, 10-assist triple-double for the star center.
Darren Collison found success against his former team, scoring 11 points and handing out nine assists.
Kosta Koufos chipped in 11 points and four rebounds off the bench and Arron Afflalo hit the Pacers for 11.
After starting the previous four games, Garrett Temple supported the first unit off the bench. Temple played hard nosed defense and finished the night with nine points and four rebounds.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Gay was as good as he’s been all season before hitting the floor.
TURNING POINT
The Kings jumped all over the Pacers in the first half to take a 60-41 lead into the intermission, but then they fell apart. The game was slipping before Gay’s injury, but the entire tenor of the game changed down the stretch as news started to spread of the injury.
INJURY UPDATE
Gay went down hard and was in visible pain leaving the floor. An MRI is scheduled for Thursday, but all signs are pointing towards a torn left Achilles tendon. Ty Lawson turned his left ankle late in Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He tried to give it a go in warm ups, but had limited mobility and had to sit out Wednesday’s game. Omri Casspi underwent an MRI on his right calf and will miss a week or two with a strain of the right plantaris tendon.
WHAT'S NEXT
Sacramento finished their season-long seven-game homestand and now venture out on an eight-game road trip beginning Friday evening with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings will play eight games in 12 nights, including three sets of back-to-backs.