Lakers Game Postponed Over Player Boycott Due To Police Shooting

LOS ANGELES, CA — Game 5 of the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff series against the Portland Trailblazers was postponed Wednesday after it became apparent the team would not take the court as part of a league-wide boycott over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The NBA's two other scheduled playoff games were also cancelled. The Milwaukee Bucks initiated the boycott amid national outrage over the shooting in which Blake, a black man, was shot by police seven times in the back as his young children looked on. Blake was shot as he tried to enter his vehicle after a confrontation with police. Authorities have not provided any information about what led to the shooting, and Blake remains hospitalized with serious injuries. Protests and violence in the aftermath of the shooting are, once again, rattling the nation.

"The NBA and the NBPA today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today's three games -- MIL-ORL, HOU-OKC and LAL-POR have been postponed. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled," the league tweeted at 2:10 p.m. Pacific Time.

The Lakers-Blazers game had been schedule for 6 p.m.

There was no immediate word on the timetable for the rescheduled games. The NBA is playing all its playoff games in Orlando due to the coronavirus.

The Lakers lead Portland three games to one in the first-round, best- of-seven series.

The Bucks failed to take the court for their scheduled game against the Orlando Magic earlier Wednesday, telling league officials they were boycotting, and it soon became apparent that the rest of the teams scheduled to play Wednesday would follow suit.

Several Lakers players have been vocal about their outrage including LeBron James, who tweeted video of the shooting, and demanded justice. He called the shooting, "wrong and so sad!! Feel so sorry for him, his family and OUR PEOPLE!! We want JUSTICE."

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss offered her support for the move.

"I was excited to see us play -- and hopefully close out our series -- tonight," she tweeted. "But I stand behind our players, today and always. After more than 400 years of cruelty, racism and injustice, we all need to work together to say enough is enough. #JusticeForJacobBlake #WeHearYou."

The Lakers later sent out a tweet with the words "Demand justice" and the phone numbers and email address for Kenosha's mayor and Kenosha County's district attorney, and the phone number for the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The Milwaukee Brewers also joined the boycott and opted not to take the field for their scheduled game Wednesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. By early evening, the Dodgers followed suit, with their game against the San Francisco Giants also scrubbed.

A short time later, Major League Soccer announced that its five remaining matches on Wednesday were all being postponed. Those postponements included LAFC's match with Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy's match with Seattle.

All three of Wednesday's WNBA games were also postponed, including a game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.