TORONTO — RaptorsThe victory of the PacersSaturday night’s game was delayed for 70 minutes. The arena had to be evacuated due to a fire in a speaker that was hanging above the stands.
The second quarter was over and players were heading to their locker rooms. Toronto won 131-91.
Raptors spokesperson, about half an hour after the game was halted, stated that they had spoken to Toronto Fire Services and hoped to resume play without fans in the next 30-40 minutes.
Shortly thereafter, two workers with ropes or harnesses were hung from the ceiling to spray a fire extinguisher on the speaker.
The Raptors returned to warmup and cheered the support staff and remaining ushers. The halftime break was reduced from 15 minutes to seven minutes and a quarter minutes.
Toronto guard Fred VanVleetAfter the restart, he did not return to play after missing two games earlier in the month due to a sore right leg.
Between Dec. 31 & Mar. 3, the Raptors had only a few hundred spectators at home. 1. Because of restrictions imposed by the Ontario government on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two sections of spectators were removed from the east side of the stadium. Toronto Fire Services personnel could be seen looking up in the empty aisles. As the game progressed, another section was removed.
Before long, videoOn social media, flames were seen coming from one of these speakers.
Herbie Kuhn, the Raptors’ public address announcer, was heard testing the system several times. However the main speakers above the stands didn’t seem to be working.
Kuhn eventually announced that the building was being evacuated on the order of Toronto Fire Services. Fans were booing that the game had been canceled.