Rudy Gay's dive to the floor highlights Jazz rout of Thunder

SALT LAKE CITY — Rudy Gay was already flying to the ground when the thought, "What are you doing?" entered his mind.

In the fourth quarter of a game where the Jazz held a 29-point lead, Gay dove to the floor after a loose ball. Necessary? Hardly. Memorable? Most definitely.

"At that point, I didn't care what the score was," Gay said of the play. "It's been a while since I've been in the game. It's been a while since I've been able to get a rhythm and actually feel like part of the game. I immediately thought to myself, 'What the hell are you doing?' as soon as I lunged out. I'll let you guys know how I am feeling tomorrow."

Wednesday night's result was expected. The Jazz beat the Thunder 137-101 in a game Oklahoma City wanted to lose, and Utah played enough of their guys to get a win. But for Gay, the game was far from a formality; it provided a chance to find his rhythm again, and, maybe most importantly, to play.

Last week, Gay was dealt another blow in an already difficult season. In a meeting with Jazz coach Quin Snyder, he was told he would be used on a situational basis. Juancho Hernangomez had played himself into the rotation, which meant Gay wouldn't always play. For a player that came to Utah with hopes of being a key contributor to a championship contender, that wasn't the greatest news.

"He told me what he felt like at that point," Gay said of the conversation. "There it was. He's the coach. I am just here to help where I can; I'll do whatever I can to be a part of things and compete. It is what it is."

To his credit, Gay kept his mentor role up at practice. On Monday, he participated in a spirited one-on-one session with Jared Butler, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside, Nikeil Alexander-Walker and Zavier Sneed. Afterward, he refused a media request; he knew the questions that were coming.

On Tuesday, though, he played 13 minutes in Utah's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and then played 26 minutes against the Thunder. He scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, and had one memorable dive to the floor. All of it stood out to Snyder.

"I'm proud. To be a vet like that — we've discussed that he will be situational, those situations are there — for him to step in and be ready and play with the emotion and the energy," Snyder said. "He's diving on the floor for loose balls; it's good to see. He came here because he wants to win and that's what he showed."

Gay said that after a season filled with some lingering pain following offseason heel surgery, he felt he was back to a point where he could contribute and play in the way he has grown accustomed to over the course of his long NBA career.

So regardless of the opponent or the score, he wasn't about to let a loose ball go — even if he might regret it in the morning.

"When I realized I couldn't bend down to get it, I probably shouldn't have done it," Gay said with a laugh.

Related topics