Monday’s Minnesota Twins’, Minnesota Timberwolves’ and Minnesota Wild’s games are not being played a day after Duante Wright was killed by police in a Minneapolis suburb.
The Twins were set to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Target Field, the Timberwolves were scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets at the Target Center and the Wild were slated to host the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center.
The decisions were made after Mr Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was fatally shot on Sunday following a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Shortly after the shooting, protesters descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department and were met by a police contingent in riot gear amid scenes of unrest.
''Out of respect for the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, and following the additional details in this evolving situation, the Minnesota Twins have decided it is in the best interests of our fans, staff, players and community to not play today's game,'' the Twins said in a statement on Twitter.
In their own statement, the NHL team said: "The Minnesota Wild organization extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Daunte Wright."
A body camera video released on Monday by the Brooklyn Center Police Department showed Wright got out of his car during the traffic stop, but appeared to try to escape from the police officer’s attempts to handcuff him before getting back into the driver’s seat.
A police officer then shouted "Taser!" several times but fired a gun at Wright.
"It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet," Brooklyn Center Police chief Tim Gannon said, as per the New York Times.
"It appears to me, from what I viewed, and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright."
The Twin Cities region was the epicentre of the Black Lives Matter movement last year when George Floyd was killed in police custody.
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering Mr Floyd, is taking place in a courtroom less than 10 miles from where Mr Wright was shot.
"Yesterday's tragic event, involving the life of Daunte Wright, once again leaves our community mourning,” the Timberwolves said in a statement on Twitter.
LeBron: Lakers took criticism to heart after 76ers loss
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took criticism of their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers "to heart" as they bounced back with a comfortable 133-107 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
The Lakers suffered a heavy 138-94 defeat to the 76ers on Monday, with the 44-point losing margin the largest in James' long career, one that stretches back to 2003.
But the Lakers hit back with an easy win over an overwhelmed Pistons team, and James felt he and his team-mates utilised the scathing assessments of the 76ers defeat to their advantage as they got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion.
"I think we responded well and we played a lot better," James said after the win. "We gave ourselves a better chance defensively.
"We got out to a lot of their shooters that we thought could make shots from the perimeter, but we also controlled the paint. And, you know, that was very key.
"We just took constructive criticism, and we took it to heart and then we applied it to the game.
"It [the criticism] got me a little bit, [but] the next day when we left to come here, it was time to focus on the Pistons."
NBA: Antetokounmpo, Lillard help Bucks clinch quarterfinal spot
The Milwaukee Bucks got big performances from their two brightest stars in a 131-124 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal spot in the In-Season Tournament.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Damian Lillard added 32 to help the Bucks win East Group B with a 4-0 record.
Milwaukee will host wild-card New York on either Dec. 4 or 5, with East Group C winner Boston going to Group A winner Indiana for the other quarterfinal before the Final Four in Las Vegas.
Miami, which was without second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler, dropped its second straight following a 9-1 stretch.
Bam Adebayo scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 21, including a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining to put the Heat up 118-115.
The Bucks, though, finished on a 16-6 run, going 5 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line. Lillard made two free throws with 63 seconds to play to help put it out of reach.
Milwaukee lost forward Pat Connaughton to a sprained right ankle in the second quarter.
Kings rally past Warriors to advance
Malik Monk sank a fadeaway with 7 seconds remaining and the Sacramento Kings rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a 124-123 win over the Golden State Warriors.
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Monk and Kevin Huerter each added 21 for the Kings, who won their group with a 4-0 record and will host New Orleans next week in the quarterfinals.
Sacramento needed a win or a loss by 11 points or fewer to advance but erased a 21-point deficit to win for the seventh time in nine games.
Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points apiece, but Golden State dropped to 2-8 in its last 10 games.
Timberwolves star Edwards injured in win
Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an injury to star guard Anthony Edwards in a 106-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the In-Season Tournament.
Edwards had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter before landing hard on his right side during a dunk attempt and leaving with a bruised right hip.
Coach Chris Finch had no more details on the injury or whether Edwards would miss time.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting but his 37-foot try at the buzzer, his only 3-point attempt of the night, was well off the mark.
Reserve Troy Brown Jr. scored 17 points and Naz Reid added 15 for Minnesota, which improved the West’s best record to 12-4.
NHL: Forsberg's goal in OT gives Predators sixth straight win
Filip Forsberg scored just 14 seconds into overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to their sixth consecutive win, 3-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Michael McCarron scored twice in the first period and Juuse Saros stopped 29 shots for Nashville, which followed a four-game losing streak with wins in six straight.
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust had goals for the Penguins, who dropped to 2-4-1 in their last seven.
Gustav Nyquist assisted on McCarron’s first goal to extend his point streak to nine games. He has two goals and nine assists during that stretch.
Pittsburgh went scoreless on both power-play opportunities and is 0 for 20 over the last eight games.
Wild stop slide in Hynes’ debut
Joel Eriksson Ek and Frederick Gaudreau scored first-period goals and the Minnesota Wild snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in John Hynes’ debut as coach.
Matt Boldy added a goal in the third period and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for Minnesota, playing its first game under Hynes after the Wild fired Dean Evason on Monday.
Colton Parayko scored for the Blues, who dropped to 3-4-0 in their past seven games.
Devils score 3 in third period to rally past Islanders
Curtis Lazar scored with 23 seconds left to cap a three-goal third period and rally the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders.
New York took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but Jack Hughes scored at 5:08 and Nico Hischier netted the equaliser on a 4-on-3 power play with 8:50 remaining.
Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer also scored for the Devils, who have won two straight after losing six of seven.
Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, who had a six-game point streak snapped (3-1-3).
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