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DENVER — The rim was bent, nobody appeared to know how to fix it, and players from the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets struggled to remain warm for 35 minutes during a weird incident on Sunday night that left Celtics star Jaylen Brown enraged.
Following a thundering dunk with 8:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, Robert Williams III of the Boston Celtics appeared to have hung on the rim. Soon thereafter, this rim began to lean to the left.
Williams stated, “I didn’t realize I did it until my teammates began to blame me.”
The rim was leveled after a break with 6:43 remaining and the Nuggets leading 110-97 in a game between NBA conference leaders. A handful of workmen initially appeared with a ladder and other tools, including a level. However, there were issues. One member of the crew used his phone. Another ladder and additional crew men materialized.
It is believed that this slam by Robert Williams bent the rim.
USA TODAY Athletics
Michael Malone, coach of the Denver Nuggets, described the scenario as “a buzzkill.”
There is a joke within. How many men are required to repair an NBA basket rim during a game?” Malone said.
As the wait continued, players devised creative methods to pass the time. Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon jogged from sideline to sideline. Marcus Smart of Boston elected to sit alone near the opposite free throw line.
The Nuggets attempted to entertain the crowd by showing games on a large screen and playing hits from the 1980s and ’90s over and over again on the sound system. Grant Williams of Boston began to dance to one song.
At one point, a closeup of a crew member with a level on the rim appeared on the video board. It revealed that it remained crooked. As if a referee had just made a terrible call against the Nuggets, the crowd jeered.
“I wish they had immediately replaced the rim,” Malone remarked.
Instead, the delay became twenty minutes long. A worker then removed the backboard’s rim to inspect it. The athletes bounced up and down in an effort to stay warm.
“They stated there will be a re-warm-up period after a certain amount of time,” said Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla.
The delay began to irritate Brown.
He stated, “There was no contact.”
Finally, a worker reinstalled the rim, and it appeared to be level. The teams raced through layup lines in the midst of the fourth quarter to regain their composure.
Workers attempt to repair the damaged rim at the Nuggets-Celtics game.
Soon, play resumed, although Brown was unsure whether the issue had been resolved.
Brown remarked, “They spent all that time attempting to correct it, but when we returned, it was still not even level.” Therefore, we have lost all of that time.
Jokic contributed 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists as the Nuggets secured a 123-111 victory after 2 hours and 40 minutes of play.
Gordon, who scored 18 points, stated, “It was all about getting the job done.”
Brown scored 30 points in total for Boston.
“This is how injuries and other things occur,” he stated. “It entire procedure was conducted improperly, in my opinion, and that also had an impact. Fortunately, nobody was injured.”
»During the Nuggets-Celtics game, a bent rim generates confusion and rage«