BOSTON -- A record heat wave that pushed temperatures into the 70s caused condensation on Boston Garden's parquet floor Wednesday night, forcing postponement of the game between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.
The game was halted with 10:30 to play in the second quarter when Dick Bavetta, crew chief of the officials, ruled the floor -- situated over the building's ice rink -- was unsafe because of slippery conditions. The floor was particularly slick on Boston Garden's East end, where the Hawks were shooting in the first half.
'Condensation was seeping up through the wooden floor,' Bavetta said.
Atlanta's Duane Ferrell slipped and fell to the floor early in the game and Bavetta stopped play with 10:45 left in the second quarter to consult with officials.
After consulting with building management, Bavetta agreed to try some ventilating fans in the arena in hopes of drying the moisture. There was a 30-minute delay and play was resumed. But the Hawks' Tim McCormick lost his footing in front of the Atlanta bench, prompting Bavetta to call the game.
'There was just too much condensation,' the veteran referee said. 'In fairness to both teams and the safety of the players, which is most important, it was necessary to terminate the game at that point.
'No one objected to me because I think we waited long enough for the ventilating fans to take effect.'
The Celtics led 37-22 when the game was stopped. A decision will be made Thursday on when the game will be replayed and if it would be resumed at the point of suspension.
Fans attending the game were advised to keep their ticket stubs.
'It was bad,' Atlanta's Doc Rivers said. 'It was unplayable. It's a great homecourt advantage. We're tip-toeing and they're going full speed.'
Rivers would not like to see the game picked up at the point of suspension.
'That would be unfair,' he said. 'I think it was obvious which side was more slippery. We had several turnovers and several busted plays because of the floor.'
A late-November heat wave brought a record-high temperature of 74 degrees to Boston Wednesday, breaking the old record of 68 set in 1896. The temperature was 67 at game time with a relative humidity of 85 percent according to the National Weather Service in Boston.
The Garden, built in 1928, has no air conditioning and has been the site of freak happenings during other sporting events.
One game of the 1988 Stanley Cup finals between the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers was postponed when the Garden's electrical system failed, causing a power outage. High spring temperatures have also caused fog on the Garden's ice and players have had to skate around with sheets in order to dispell the fog.
Celtic officials have long been accused of keeping the Garden a hothouse for opponents by purposely keeping temperatures in the ancient building uncomfortably high.
Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins said he noticed the floor was slippery during the pre-game shootaround.
'Everybody knew the floor was slick,' he said. 'Everybody was complaining about it before (the game). The floor was just too slick to dry up in a short period of time. One of our main guys could've gotten hurt or one of their main guys could've gotten hurt. It was the right decision.'
Several of the Celtics confirmed that their end of the court was also slippery, although not quite as bad.
'Everybody was running kind of tentatively,' Boston guard Brian Shaw said.
Both Celtics Coach Chris Ford and Boston President of Basketball Operations Dave Gavitt felt the game should be resumed from the point it was stopped. They claimed the precedence was set in 1986 in a suspended game involving the Seattle SuperSonics. That game was picked up from the point of suspension.
