Toronto Raptors assistant coach Sergio Scariolo filled in for head coach Nick Nurse on Friday because of COVID-19 protocols. The Raptors’ game Sunday was postponed because of COVID-19 issues. Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
The Toronto Raptors’ issues with the coronavirus have worsened, prompting the NBA to call off their game scheduled for Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls.
The league said the Raptors are dealing with positive test results, without disclosing how many. Combined with ongoing contact tracing issues, they would not have the league-required eight players available.
Toronto played Friday without Coach Nick Nurse, several assistants and staffers, and starting forward Pascal Siakam because of virus-related issues. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo coached the team to a win over Houston and had been in line to coach again Sunday.
The Raptors-Bulls game is the 30th to be postponed so far this season because of COVID-19 testing or contact tracing.
It was the first postponement this season for the Raptors, who are playing their home games in Tampa, Florida, because of coronavirus restrictions in Canada. Chicago has now had four of its games pushed back, all because its opponent for each of those contests was going through a virus-related problem.
The only teams that have not had a game postponed by virus issues so far this season are Brooklyn, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
All NBA players and coaches are tested daily. The Raptors used 12 players on Friday and had 14 listed as available to play that night. For Sunday’s game, Siakam was the only player who had been listed on Saturday’s injury report as out because of health and safety protocols – which indicates that results that came back on Saturday either showed more problems, or the contact tracing investigations showed that players had been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and may have to quarantine.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
BUCKS 105, CLIPPERS 100: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points and sparked closing 9-0 run to help Milwaukee rally past visiting Los Angeles for its fifth consecutive victory.
The Bucks won for the first time in 11 games this season when trailing after three quarters.
Kawhi Leonard’s potential tying 3-point attempt bounced off the front rim with about four seconds left. Khris Middleton got the rebound and sealed it with two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining.
HEAT 109, HAWKS 99: Kendrick Nunn scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Miami extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to six games by beating visiting Atlanta.
Previous Achiuwa had 14 points in 12 reserve minutes for Miami, which used a 10-0 run late in the fourth to pull away. Tyler Herro got 12 of his 14 points for Miami in the fourth quarter and Goran Dragic scored 13 for the Heat.
John Collins led all scorers with 34 points for Atlanta, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Clint Capela finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, while Trae Young added 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
GRIZZLIES 133, ROCKETS 84: Justise Winslow scored 20 points and Memphis won at Houston, sending the Rockets to their 11th straight loss.
Houston has its longest losing streak since a 15-game skid in November and December 2001. The Rockets were 4 of 45 on 3-pointers.
LAKERS 117, WARRIORS 91: LeBron James scored 19 points in his 1,300th regular-season appearance as Los Angeles routed visiting Golden State.
The defending NBA champions had dropped five of six since Anthony Davis suffered a right calf strain on Feb. 14, but have won their last two.
KNICKS 109, PISTONS 90: Julius Randle scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and New York moved above .500 with a victory at Detroit.
The Knicks (18-17) have the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference and have won seven of their last nine games. This is the first time they’ve been above .500 this far into the season since they were 54-28 at the end of 2012-13.
SUNS 119, TIMBERWOLVES 99: Devin Booker scored 21 of his season-high 43 points in the third quarter to carry Phoenix to a victory at Minnesota.
Booker hit 15 of 26 shots from the floor, and went 12 for 13 from the free-throw line for the surging Suns (22-11), who moved into a tie for third place in the Western Conference.
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