Kings (14-52) at Atlanta (39-28)
Scoring: Kings 13th (99.87), Hawks 20th (98.1)
Shooting: Kings 24th (44.8 percent), Hawks 11th (45.8)
Scoring defense: Kings 29th (108.47), Hawks 11th (96.37)
Shooting defense: Kings 29th (48.0 percent), Hawks 10th (45.3)
Rebound differential: Kings 29th (minus-4.98), Hawks 24th (minus-2.19)
The link: Hawks coverage in the The Atlanta Journal-Consitiution; Kings coverage in The Bee (Story; Jackson out for surgery story).
The almanac: On this date in 1984, the Houston Rockets retired Calvin Murphy's No. 23 jersey. Murphy became only the second Rocket player to have his jersey retired. Rudy Tomjanovich was the first.
On this date in 1974, the Celtics beat the Capital Bullets 129-103 at Boston Garden, while collecting an NBA record 61 defensive rebounds.
***
When Bobby Jackson bent over clutching his left cheek on Friday, he may have been thinking, "Oh, no, not again."
This is not the first time Jackson has had a fractured cheekbone, although the one he suffered previously was in 2003 on his right side and that one didn't require surgery.
Jackson wasn't kept out of any games during that injury in 2003, nor did it keep him from working out, according to a story Marty McNeal wrote after it happened.
But, you can probably understand the reason why Jackson was so eager to stay on the floor that season.
The Kings were in the Western Conference semifinals with the Dallas Mavericks.
Jackson even elected not to wear a protective mask.
And it was following that injury that Jackson swore to never appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated again.
To find out why, click the link to continue reading. I have included the story McNeal wrote in 2003.
From The Bee Archive:
Jackson to play - but skip magazine
By Martin McNeal
5/10/2003
Kings guard Bobby Jackson's non-displaced right cheekbone fracture suffered Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks did not prevent him working out Friday afternoon and won't keep him from playing tonight without a protective mask.
Jackson was cleared by doctors to play when the Kings meet the Mavs in Game 3 of their best-of-seven, Western Conference semifinal series.
The fracture, however, probably will prevent Jackson from seeking a Sports Illustrated subscription. Jackson was on the cover of this week's issue, and there long has been an oft-discussed correlation between appearances on the magazine's cover and a purported jinx.
"I believe in it," Jackson said of the SI jinx. "I was just telling (media relations director) Troy (Hanson), 'Don't ever ask me to be in Sports Illustrated again.'
"I don't care how much publicity it brings me," he said. "I don't want to be in it."
The fear regarding a return by Jackson after he was injured colliding with Dallas center Raef LaFrentz in Game 2 was that the Sixth Man of the Year's face would swell quite a bit.
"Yeah, I went straight to the mirror," Jackson said of getting out of bed Friday morning. "I was hoping I didn't look like the Elephant Man. I didn't want to scare my daughter. But I was lucky with the swelling."
Jackson felt well enough that he went to pick up his daughter from the airport and put in his usual number of shots at practice in the late afternoon.
Coincidentally or not, the Kings' starting five was featured on a Sports Illustrated cover in February 2001. In the first game following the NBA All-Star Game that week, Chris Webber suffered the first of a series of debilitating ankle injuries.
"I hope (SI) doesn't ask me to be on the cover," said a smiling but notoriously superstitious Mike Bibby.
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