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NBA game evacuated after smoke engulfs arena

The meeting of the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Mexico City had to be cancelled due to the incident.

THE NBA CANCELLED a rare game in Mexico City between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday after smoke from a generator malfunction engulfed the arena, forcing players to evacuate.

Players abandoned their warm-up and exited the 22,000-capacity Arena Ciudad de Mexico about an hour before tip-off as smoke entered the facility.

The game, which would have given Mexicans a rare chance to see big-name NBA players such as Spurs guard Tony Parker and regional star Manu Ginobili of Argentina, will now take place in Minnesota, the NBA said.

“The date for the rescheduled game, which will be played at Target Center in Minneapolis, will be announced at a later time,” the National Basketball Association said in a statement.

It would have been just the second NBA regular season game in Mexico after the Dallas Mavericks played the Houston Rockets there in 1997.

- © AFP, 2013

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