Knicks-Nets Postponed Due To Hurricane Sandy Damage

The Knicks-Nets game in Brooklyn has been postponed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy.

The game had been scheduled as the NBA grand opening of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn but was postponed at the request of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, The Associated Press noted.

The NBA originally said the Knicks-Nets game would go on, but it was postponed after Bloomberg made a call to league offices. The Barclays Center is situated above a subway station, and, with mass transit still taken out in much of the city, many fans would have no way to get to the game.

As ESPN reported, the league agreed with the decision.

“Mayor Bloomberg informed us this afternoon that after further analysis of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy that he felt it was in the best interests of the city of New York, the teams and our fans that we postpone the Knicks-Nets game scheduled for Thursday night,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this devastating storm.”

Bloomberg said the Knicks-Nets game being postponed is the best outcome, as the league and team wants a chance to showcase its stadium before a large audience.

“It’s a great stadium, it would have been a great game but the bottom line is there is not a lot of mass transit. Our police have plenty of other things to do,” Bloomberg said at a news conference.

Though the Knicks-Nets game has been postponed, there is no word if the Knicks game Friday at Madison Square Garden against the Miami Heat will be postponed as well. The Nets are scheduled to host Toronto on Saturday night, and there is no word on that game either.