Thursday was a day of protest in Sacramento as the community reacted to the police killing of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man gunned down by officers in his grandmother’s backyard last weekend. That protest drew national attention as awareness of the case grew.
The Kings-Hawks game that no one and everyone saw
We have that and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
But then it drew national attention from the sports world as protestors formed a human chain in front of the entrance to the Golden 1 Center, where the Kings and Hawks were scheduled to play.
An estimated 2,000 fans were already in the arena, or soon gained access through a VIP entrance. But the bulk of the crowd hadn’t yet showed up when the protestors gathered. The team closed the entrances and locked doors as protestors formed a human chain in front of the entrance. The tip-off was delayed 15 minutes, but the game still went on with the most sparse crowd in modern NBA history.
Shortly thereafter, the Kings told fans waiting outside — on the other side of the protestors — to go home. After the game, majority partner Vivek Ranadive took to center court along with players, executives, and coaches to offer sympathy to Clark’s family and present a message of unity.
Sports is far down the list of priorities in Sacramento right now, but the intersection of the protest and the Kings game will certainly spur additional conversation in the community. Let’s hope it bears fruit.
Playoff picture Update
The Sixers were the only East team with playoff implications active on Thursday. They beat the Magic by 20 to remain at 30 wins, one more than No. 3 Cleveland and one fewer than Nos. 5 and 6 Indiana and Washington. As such, the playoff bracket didn’t change and the Sixers are currently your No. 4 seed.
Out West, both the Pelicans and Jazz won. New Orleans swept a back-to-back-to-back created due to an arena leak previously — that’s crazy impressive. With the win over the Lakers, the Pelicans slid into the No. 4 slot as they have won the tiebreaker with Oklahoma City. Both teams have 30 losses, as do the Spurs. By beating the Mavericks, Utah stayed at 31 losses, tied with Minnesota in the Nos. 7-8 race.
Five of the six teams with East playoff seeds up in the air are active Friday. Seven of the eight teams in the West quagmire have games, too — the Pelicans finally have a night off. The biggest game: Jazz vs. Spurs at 8:30 p.m. ET on League Pass.
Scores Galore ...
MEM 79, CHA 140
PHI 118, ORL 98
DET 96, HOU 100 (OT)
LAL 125, NOP 128
UTA 119, DAL 112
ATL 90, SAC 105
... And So Much More
That Memphis-Charlotte score is not a typo: the Grizzlies lost a game by 61 points. Sixty-one. Points.
The second weirdest NBA story of the season takes another turn: Adrian Wojnarowski reports there was a players’ meeting in San Antonio on Saturday in which players implored Kawhi Leonard to play; multiple players denied that’s what happened.
One of the Raptors’ many strengths is their bench. Will Toronto shorten the rotations in the playoffs, then?
This is interesting: Stephen Curry will be wearing low-tops when he returns to action (possibly Friday).
David Robinson explains the time he dropped 71 points in the season finale to deny Shaq the scoring title.
The Suns are beginning their coaching search now, but it looks like they’ll let Jay Triano interview after the regular season closes, which indicates they won’t hire someone before then.
Kristian Winfield’s food beat continues to inform and delight. Here he is talking to Dennis Smith about how being in the NBA changes your diet.
And finally: Mike Bibby legitimately Uncle Drew’d some kids.
Be excellent to each other.
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