Sunday's NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat has been postponed, the league announced a little more than two hours before the scheduled 7 p.m. ET tipoff.
The league said the postponement was due to ongoing COVID-19 contact tracing with the Heat, which prevented the team from having the league-required eight available players.
The Celtics would also have been without nine players for the game, seven of them out due to the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the team announced earlier. They are: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Javonte Green, Semi Ojeleye, Tristan Thompson, Grant Williams and Robert Williams.
Romeo Langford is recovering from right wrist surgery and Kemba Walker is out with a left knee injury, according to the team. That left the Celtics with eight players available.
The NBA did not reveal a makeup date for the game.
The Athletic reported on Saturday that Tatum was expected to quarantine for 10 to 14 days.
Dallas Mavericks close facility, two players test positive
The Dallas Mavericks are the latest NBA team to experience COVID-19 issues, according to multiple reports.
Two players have tested positive, and there are four players in the COVID-19 protocols — Maxi Kleber, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Richardson — the Dallas Morning News reported, though it is not clear who among the four tested positive.
All four players are quarantining, Kleber entering self-isolation Sunday and the other three remaining in Denver, where the Mavericks played the Nuggets three nights ago; Dallas defeated the Orlando Magic 112-98 on Saturday.
Kleber played against the Magic and is one of the players who has tested positive, according to ESPN.
The team's facility has been closed and contact tracing is underway, per the reports. Dallas is scheduled to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
