Heat-Bulls match postponed due to condensation on the field in bizarre scene

The Bulls and Heat were supposed to face off on Thursday, but the court won instead.

After a nearly two-hour delay at Chicago’s United Center, officials postponed the game due to condensation on the field after the arena crew attempted to dry the playing surface with mops and towels.

Officials cited “court conditions” as the reason behind the match’s postponement, and there were boos from the crowd when the move was made at 8:53 p.m.

‘Tonight’s match has been officially postponed due to court circumstances’ the Bulls said in a statement. “The match will be rescheduled at a later date and tickets for tonight’s match remain valid for the rescheduled match. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

This is reported by Chicago Sports NetworkPlayers from both teams felt the condensation early — they said the field was slippery just when walking — and that the situation got worse when fans arrived because of the open doors letting in Chicago’s humid weather.

“We always want to try to go. But players complained about it on both sides,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. per CSN. “The staff went out and almost immediately we felt it wasn’t playable.”

Although bizarre, this situation has happened before in the NBA, most recently at TD Garden during a game between the Celtics and Clippers during the 2009-2010 season.

That game, which the Celtics ultimately won 95-89, was only postponed briefly in the first quarter due to condensation on the field.

Then-Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said the incident reminded him of a game that was canceled for the same reason during his playing days with the Hawks — during the 1990-91 season, a game between Boston and Atlanta was postponed due to a slippery track.

“The Celtics had the court wet offensively on the Hawks side, were up 30 and then decided to abandon the game, which people in Atlanta thought was very unfair at the time,” Rivers told reporters at the time.