NBA
Saturday’s scheduled games between the Charlotte Hornets and LA Clippers at Inuit Dome and between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena were postponed due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County, the NBA announced Friday. The dates for the rescheduled games were not announced.
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The Hornets’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday in downtown Los Angeles was already postponed this week.
As of Friday night, the deadly wildfires that have been burning since Tuesday in the Los Angeles area covered more than 36,000 acres, caused the destruction of more than 13,000 structures and put about 100,000 people under evacuation orders. According to recent reporting, the death toll has risen to 11 people. The fires are not yet contained.
“The NBA and the Clippers and Lakers organizations have been in communication with local officials in Los Angeles and Inglewood about the ongoing situation in the Los Angeles area and the game postponements ensure no resources will be diverted from the wildfire response efforts,” the NBA said Friday.
The dates for the rescheduled games will be announced at a later date, the NBA said.
The Clippers are scheduled to play Monday night at Intuit Dome against the Miami Heat. The NBA said next week’s events at Inuit Dome will “continue as scheduled.” The Lakers are also scheduled to play the Spurs at home on Monday.
The Clippers previously released an availability report that did not list Kawhi Leonard on it. Leonard missed the Clippers’ previous game Wednesday night in Denver due to personal reasons after leaving Colorado to return home and attend to family that had to evacuate from the Pacific Palisades area.
The fires have disrupted sports all across the Los Angeles area. Lakers coach JJ Redick opened up Friday about losing his family’s rental home in Pacific Palisades, while soccer players Carlos Vela and Ali Riley both lost homes in the fires as well. Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr also lost his childhood home.
The Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings’ wild-card game set for Monday was moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., due to the fires.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Getty Images)
