Days after being selected as an NBA All-Star Game starter, New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the 2017-18 NBA season.
Cousins suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 115-113 win over the Houston Rockets. With 14 seconds left in the game, the 27-year-old landed hard on his left leg after attempting a rebound after missing a free throw.
“We were starting to play damn good basketball,” – said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry to ESPN after the game. “DeMarcus has been great.“
“I feel horrible for him,” – Gentry added. “Everything that he’s done, and what he’s tried to do for us this year, and what he’s made himself, and the improvements in all areas that he’s made on and off the court, has just been great. I don’t want that to happen to a guy that’s trying to better himself.“
Before the injury, DeMarcus Cousins just posted his second triple-double in three games and ended the game with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. He has been pivotal to the Pelicans’ good run in this part of the season and has been averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He and power forward Anthony Davis were on track to be the first pair of teammates to average at least 25 points per game and 10 rebounds in a season.
“We were just getting it,” – said Davis. “We were just figuring everything out. That’s the tough part. We’ve just got to keep going. We’ve got to keep going and keep finding a way to win.“
DeMarcus Cousins was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2017 from the Sacramento Kings. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
