The Dallas Mavericks’ Thursday night game against the New Orleans Pelicans is on track to avoid postponement — but not without travel headaches.
As ice and freezing temperatures disrupted travel across Texas this week, the Pelicans have not been able to leave Denver, where they played Tuesday night, to fly to Dallas.
Multiple news outlets reported Wednesday that the Pelicans plan to fly into DFW Airport on Thursday morning, in time for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at American Airlines Center.
The Detroit Pistons can commiserate.
After playing the Mavericks on Monday night, the Pistons have been stuck in Dallas and are unlikely to return to Detroit until Thursday at the earliest. That prompted the NBA to postpone the Pistons’ Thursday night game against the Washington Wizards, who have already arrived in Detroit.
The Mavericks can also relate to disjointed travel plans.
When Tropical Storm Nicole approached central Florida in mid-November, the NBA pushed up the tipoff time of the Mavericks’ Nov. 9 contest against the Orlando Magic so the team could then bus two hours to Tampa to ensure a safe takeoff for their flight to Washington for the second night of the back to back on Nov. 10.
The Mavericks also faced travel disruption Dec. 21, when their postgame flight in snowy Minnesota managed to take off for their next game, Dec. 23 against the Rockets — only to then circle in Houston fog for an hour and reroute to Dallas at about 5 a.m.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Before Mavericks game Thursday, Texas ice storm causes major travel issues for Pelicans
- Advertisment - 