The preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz scheduled for Thursday night at San Diego was canceled because of the devastation caused by wind-whipped fires that forced at least 346,000 homes in San Diego County to be evacuated.
“There is simply too much devastation in the area and too much uncertainty about what will happen in the next few days,” Tim Harris, the Lakers’ senior vice president of business operations, said Tuesday as the teams played at Honda Center.
The announcement was made in a release handed out on press row just before the final horn. Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters that he didn’t support going to San Diego.
“It’s a city that’s obviously depressed and recovering, and people are limiting things they have to do,” Jackson said. “They’re asking people to limit their outdoor activity, and they’re also talking about resources. So there are considerations there. I understand that the mayor lately has asked people to stay at home and hunker down underneath this thing until it passes.”
Utah coach Jerry Sloan agreed with the decision after his team’s 102-81 victory.
“We have to go along with whatever they decide to do, but we should be more concerned about those people having to worry about their homes than the cancellation of a ballgame,” Sloan said. “I don’t know what the situation is, so obviously it’s probably better that we don’t go down there and just go about our business trying to get ready to start the season.”