The Hawks were greeted by a winter storm when they returned to Atlanta early Friday morning after an extended road trip on the West Coast.
While the bulk of the storm had moved out of the Atlanta area Saturday morning, the dangerous icy conditions it left behind prompted NBA officials to postpone the Hawks’ scheduled home game against the Houston Rockets.
The league said the decision was made “to prioritize the safety of players, fans and staff due to the severe weather and dangerous icy conditions in the Atlanta area.” The Rockets’ plane arrived in Atlanta before the postponement was announced.
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A basketball on the court next to an NBA logo during a break in the first half of a 2023 NBA Summer League game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 7, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A winter storm dumped snow and ice on the Atlanta area Friday, and some roads are expected to freeze again Saturday night.
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The number of power outages around Atlanta crept up Friday night as falling trees on power lines became a widespread problem. More than 110,000 customers were without power, most in the Atlanta area.
A truck is crushed as another spins its wheels on a sloppy exit off Interstate 285 northeast of downtown Atlanta, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
The dangerous ice conditions in the southeastern United States come amid a very different set of extremes on the West Coast. Southern California continues to struggle with devastating wildfires that started earlier this week in Los Angeles.
On Friday, the NBA announced that the Lakers and Clippers home games scheduled for January 11 would not go ahead as originally planned due to the ongoing wildfires.
“The NBA and the Clippers and Lakers organizations have been in communication with local officials in Los Angeles and Inglewood regarding the ongoing situation in the Los Angeles area, and the game postponements ensure that no resources will be diverted from wildfire efforts,” the league said . in a statement.
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
The Lakers’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets on January 9 was previously postponed.
The NBA also announced that the National Basketball Players Association would donate $1 million to the American Red Cross and other organizations to help with disaster relief.
The Lakers have played home games in downtown Los Angeles for decades. The Clippers stopped sharing an arena with the Lakers at the start of the 2024–25 NBA season when the franchise moved to the $2 billion Intuit Dome in nearby Inglewood, California.
It remains unclear whether the conditions will result in the postponement of any additional Lakers or Clippers home games. The rescheduled dates for the postponed Hawks, Lakers and Clippers games will be announced at a future date, the league said.
The Hawks are scheduled to host the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 14.
