Celtics coach Brad Stevens did not expect game vs. Heat to be played due to riots at Capitol

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said he wasn't sure the team's game against the Miami Heat would be played Wednesday night in light of the events and riots in Washington, D.C. The shocking, horrifying events resulted in the death of four individuals and captured the attention of the nation, so much so that the Celtics gave their players the choice of not playing.

"To be honest, at 30 minutes [before tip], I didn't think we were playing," Stevens told USA Today. "Then coaches left the room, and players talked and chose to play. If our guys chose not to play tonight, they had the full support of my staff, myself and our organization."

The Celtics ended up winning the game, but the focus remained on what happened in D.C. Both the Celtics and Heat players kneeled during the national anthem, and after the game, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum spoke out against the extremists, as well as addressing systemic racism in regards to police brutality.

"In one America, you get killed by sleeping in your car, selling cigarettes or playing in your backyard," Brown said. “And then in another America, you get to storm the Capitol and no tear gas, no massive arrests, none of that. So I think it’s obvious, it’s 2021, I don’t think anything has changed."

Last summer, at the height of nationwide protests, the NBA experienced a league-wide shutdown in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc.