Members of the Minnesota Timberwolves team leave as smoke engulfs the basketball court during a regular season NBA match between the Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima says the smoke was coming from a generator fire outside the arena. There was no word yet if the start of the game will be delayed. AP
MEXICO CITY — The NBA says the game between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves has been postponed because of smoky conditions inside the Mexico City arena.
The game scheduled for Wednesday night will be made up in Minnesota at a later date.
The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima.
About 15 minutes after the scheduled start, the Spurs bus pulled away from the building. The Timberwolves bus followed soon after.
While the teams were warming up for their regular-season matchup, lights went out in parts of the arena and smoke began pouring out of vents in the upper deck.