If you can’t take the heat…
Basketball fans and players were stuck in a hot mess Thursday night during Game 1 of the NBA finals when the arena’s air conditioning malfunctioned, leaving the place steaming with heat.
Unfortunately, that heat caused Miami Heat’s LeBron James to exit stage left from the court due to severe leg cramping caused by the warm temperatures.
And at this point, we’ve think we’ve made enough puns about the heat that caused the Heat’s demise.
“It was the whole left leg, damn near the whole left side,” James said. “I was losing a lot [of fluids] throughout the game. It was extremely hot in the building, you know, both teams, fans, everybody could feel it. I was the one that had to take the shot.”
“It was an unusual circumstance,” James said. “I never played in a building like that, it’s been a while, like a high school game or [youth basketball], and everybody is sitting on top and you feel good being in a building like that.”
In the end, and with James playing only five minutes in the fourth quarter, the San Antonio Spurs outscored the Heat 36-17 over the final 12 minutes to win 110-95 and take a 1-0 series lead.
As for James, he received intravenous fluids during the game and even changed his uniform at halftime to try to stay dry. But the cramping continued. Eventually, with the help of teammates, he was carried off the floor.
“It’s frustration and anger, but at the same time, it’s something that you try to prevent, you try to control,” James said. “I mean, I got all the fluids I need to get, I do my normal routine I’ve done and it was inevitable for me tonight, throughout the conditions, you know, out there on the floor. I lost all the fluids that I was putting in in the last couple of days out there on the floor. It sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point in the season.”
And the fans, who were still stuck in the humid building?
A power failure for the electrical systems that run the AT&T Center left the arena without air conditioning. With the temperature in the arena reaching as high as 90 degrees, all players were visibly exhausted, some even putting ice packs on their necks during timeouts. Fans, who conveniently were given noisemakers that doubled as handheld fans, tried to cool themselves for the duration of the game.
For more highlights from the game, click here.
SOURCE: ESPN | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
