In a highly anticipated matchup between the top teams in the Eastern and Western conferences, the Denver Nuggets emerged victorious against the Boston Celtics, but the game was marred by a bizarre 35-minute delay due to a bent rim.
The incident occurred when Celtics’ Robert Williams III dunked the ball with 8:06 left in the fourth quarter, causing the rim to become misaligned.
Despite efforts by a lone technician, the rim remained bent, prompting a farcical scene where multiple workers, ladders, and spirit levels were deployed to fix the issue.
The delay left players and fans frustrated, with Denver’s mascot Rocky the Mountain Lion attempting to lighten the mood by pretending to fix the rim on the other side of the court.
As the minutes ticked by, the crowd grew restless, and players from both teams tried to stay warm by running across the court. Finally, after 35 minutes of work, the rim was deemed level, and play resumed.
The Nuggets kicked on to take the 123-111 win, inspired by Nikola Jokic’s impressive performance, which included 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.
However, despite the lengthy delay, Celtics’ Jaylen Brown expressed concerns that the rim still appeared bent, suggesting that the delay was poorly handled and could have led to injuries. “They spent all that time trying to fix it, but when we came back, it still looked like it wasn’t even level, in my opinion,” Brown said.
“That has an effect on the game. That’s how injuries and stuff happen. Luckily, that didn’t happen, but that wasn’t good. That whole process was handled poorly, in my opinion, and that had an effect as well.”