Thunder-Rockets, Trail Blazers-Lakers games postponed following boycott
The Athletic's Shams Charania was first to report that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets chose to boycott Game 5 of the first-round series scheduled to begin on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
CNN's Coy Wire subsequently tweeted that the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers would also sit out Game 5 of that series set to get underway at 9 p.m.:
Shortly after 5 p.m., the NBA confirmed that all three fixtures were postponed and will be rescheduled.
Earlier in the day, the Milwaukee Bucks elected to remain in their locker room as members of the Orlando Magic warmed up for Game 5 of that series. Eventually, reports confirmed that Milwaukee players decided to boycott.
Orlando did not accept a forfeit and, instead, left the building:
NBATV reported personnel from those two teams were united in choosing to not play.
These demonstrations occurred in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot at least seven times by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. He survived the incident but is reportedly paralyzed.
On Wednesday morning, stories surfaced that the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics were in discussions about boycotting Game 1 of the second-round series between those franchises scheduled to start on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
The Detroit Lions canceled Tuesday's team practice to protest the shooting.
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