NBA-China: first game on state broadcaster for 2 years, move comes after Daryl Morey criticised for old Hong Kong tweet
- China Central Television to stream LA Clippers game against Utah Jazz on Wednesday
- Morey’s notorious tweet in 2019 on Hong Kong’s protests strained the relationship between the league and China
China Central Television is to stream its first NBA game for nearly two years on Wednesday, showing the LA Clippers taking on Utah Jazz.
The move comes after Clippers coach Tyronn Lue ripped Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey over his notorious Hong Kong tweet, as the pair’s war of words rumbled on.
The two have had a back-and-forth over the past several days with Lue taking a swipe on Monday night at Morey’s tweet from October 2019, as the Houston Rockets general manager.
In the message, Morey supported Hong Kong protesters. It was a tweet that strained the NBA’s relationship with China and led to lost revenue for the league.
It all started Friday night when the Sixers beat the Clippers, 122-97, in Los Angeles. James Harden went 11 for 11 from the foul line and Joel Embiid finished 7 for 8. Lue was asked about their free-throw prowess before the game.
“Embiid is No 1 in the league in free throws and James Harden is No 3,” Lue said. “You take away their free throws and neither guy would be top 10 in scoring. So it just tells you how much they’re getting to the free-throw line.
“We just have to do a good job pulling our hands back, making sure we’re playing, not letting them get into the bonus and do the sweep-throughs. They’re going to get some calls because of who they are, but we just have to make sure we’re doing our part.”