Nate McMillan won’t coach tonight’s rematch with the Clippers in Los Angeles because he is traveling to Raleigh, N.C., for his aunt’s funeral. McMillan didn’t identify his aunt by name, but said he lived with her as a teenager because his mother was going to move and he didn’t want to change high schools.
“She invited me … and I ended up staying with her from ninth grade until I left to come (to Seattle, after being drafted by the Sonics in 1985),” he said. “She has one son, and he and I are the same age, so we were like brothers.”
His aunt had been ill for about a year with cancer, said McMillan, who will turn the team over to associate head coach Dwane Casey for tonight’s game. McMillan, who planned to take a late-night flight to North Carolina after Tuesday’s game, is expected to return to Seattle in time for Thursday’s practice in preparation for Friday’s game against Golden State.
In his four-plus seasons as Sonics head coach, McMillan has missed one other game. It was on Jan. 11, 2002, when he traveled to North Carolina to be with his mother, who was ill. Casey coached the team that night to a 102-100 win over Cleveland.
Gone yesterday, here today: On Sunday, Reggie Evans was supposed to play against the Miami Heat and didn’t.
On Tuesday, Evans wasn’t supposed to play against the LA Clippers and did.
A confusing thing, gastroenteritis.
One day after being released from an overnight hospital stay, Evans was back in the starting lineup for the Sonics after missing the last three games because of a stomach disorder. He became ill on Seattle’s recent East Coast road trip after “I ate some bad (chicken) wings in Miami that didn’t agree with me.”
He played against the Heat in that road game, but felt ill and returned to Seattle for tests. On Saturday, he was cleared to play in the rematch against the Heat at KeyArena, but became ill again that night. He went to Seattle’s Swedish Hospital on Sunday morning and stayed until Monday, during which he received additional tests, including an MRI and a CAT scan.
“They went the extra mile,” Evans said, “because they really wanted to see what it is so they can cure it.” The symptoms, he added, are nausea, diarrhea and “a cramp in my stomach that stays in one spot and won’t go away for nothing.”
The test results aren’t due back until later in the week, and in the meantime Evans will stick with a moderate diet. On Tuesday, for instance, he ate mostly Jell-O and drank a lot of juice, although he also downed some sausages.
“I can’t really eat like I normally want to eat,” he said. “I have to be really cautious.”
Rich Myhre
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