LOS ANGELES • The National Basketball Association (NBA) postponed three more games and the National Hockey League (NHL) once again pushed back the Dallas Stars' season opener, amid a surge of Covid-19 cases that has put professional sport on notice in North America.
Two games between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards set for today and tomorrow were on hold, the NBA said on Friday, because the Wizards did not have the "league-required eight available players to proceed" due to ongoing contact tracing.
Hours later, the NBA halted a Friday game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves, citing a similar shortfall of available Minnesota players, making it the 12th game this season that the league has postponed.
Sixteen new players have tested positive for Covid-19 since Jan 6, the NBA said, after the league and its players' association agreed on "additional measures" to protect players and staff.
A stricter stance on transgressions led to a US$50,000 (S$66,500) fine for Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving on Friday after he was spotted at a crowded indoor party without a mask.
NBA protocols to combat the coronavirus forbid players from attending indoor gatherings of more than 15 people.
Irving has not played since Jan 5 for what the Nets have said are "personal reasons" and his return date has not been announced.
Meanwhile, two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and had nine rebounds to power the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-109 victory over Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks in a battle between the two early front runners for MVP honours.
Both the NBA and the NHL are adapting to the harsh reality of life beyond the bubble settings they used to finish their respective seasons last year, roughly 10 months since the coronavirus pandemic put most sport on hold.
The NHL on Friday delayed the Stars' games after an outbreak in which 17 players tested positive, and the team are now expected to open against the Nashville Predators on Jan 22.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
