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The organization was hoping the NBA would step in on Sunday and possibly postpone upcoming games for the team, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as of the afternoon.

According to a source close to the situation, the Bulls are waiting for the NBA to change its current stance with postponing games, but the organization might not get the answer they were hoping for on Sunday.

The Sun-Times confirmed that Zach LaVine and Troy Brown Jr. became the eighth and ninth Bulls players to be put in the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, after the team tested before getting on the flight to Miami late Saturday night.

The two will now join Coby White, Javonte Green, DeMar DeRozan, Matt Thomas, Derrick Jones Jr., Stanley Johnson and Ayo Dosunmu.

The Bulls do have nine eligible players on the roster, and the league has taken the stance that it’s not who is in the protocol as much as how many are in the protocol.

If they have enough healthy bodies to play then they will have to play.

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This Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, satellite photo provided by Maxar shows a close-up of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., after severe storms moved through the area late the previous evening, causing catastrophic damage. | AP

While 45 employees survived, six people were killed and a seventh person was airlifted to a hospital.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Search efforts at an Amazon facility in Illinois where at least six people were killed in a tornado were expected to take several days, but authorities said they did not expect to find additional survivors.

The company has not said how many people were in the building not far from St. Louis when the tornado hit at 8:35 p.m. Friday — part of a swarm of twisters across the Midwest and the South that leveled entire communities. Authorities said they didn’t have a full count of employees because it was during a shift change and there were several part-time employees.

Both sides of the warehouse used to prepare orders for delivery collapsed inward and the roof caved, Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford said at a Saturday news conference.

Authorities received reports of workers being trapped and the fire unit arrived within six minutes, according to Whiteford. Police helped pull people from the rubble. While 45 employees survived, six people were killed and a seventh person was airlifted to a hospital.

Whiteford said crews would search the rubble for several days.

The damage was extensive; the structure’s steel support pillars were exposed after the walls and roof caved.

“These walls are made out of 11-inch thick concrete, and they’re about 40 feet tall, so a lot of weight from that came down,” Whiteford said.

Employee Amanda Goss had just started her first week in a new job as an Amazon delivery driver when the tornado hit.

“As I look up, the corner of the building was shaking, and it comes down the garage area and then I felt the gates coming in behind me,” Goss told KTVI-TV. “All I do is sit there in my van hoping it don’t move.”

Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn on Sunday identified the six people who were killed. Four were from Illinois: 26-year-old Austin J. McEwen of Edwardsville, 29-year-old Clayton Lynn Cope of Alton, 46-year-old Larry E. Virden of Collinsville and 62-year-old Kevin D. Dickey of Carlyle. Two others — 28-year-old Deandre S. Morrow and 34-year-old Etheria S. Hebb — were from St. Louis.

Cope’s mother, Carla, told media outlets that her son, Clayton, was a maintenance worker and she was on the phone with him right before the building was hit and pushed him to get shelter. She said her son loved his job, fishing and his dog Draco.

The Amazon facility, among three in Edwardsville, is a 1.1 million square foot (102,193 square meter) “delivery station” that employs about 190 workers across several shifts, according to Amazon. The facility, which opened in July 2020, prepares orders for “last-mile delivery” to customers. Edwardsville is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “We’re continuing to support our employees and partners in the area.”

Amazon said that when a site is made aware of a tornado warning, all employees are notified and directed to move to a shelter.

But company officials declined to answer specific questions about when employees were warned.

A union representing retail employees that has pushed to organize Amazon employees blasted the company for “dangerous labor practices” for having employees work during the severe weather.

“Time and time again Amazon puts its bottom line above the lives of its employees,” Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Requiring, said in a statement. “Requiring workers to work through such a major tornado warning event as this was inexcusable.”

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The Chicago Blackhawks are a significantly worse team than the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, earlier in the year, it took an overtime period for the Leafs to beat the Hawks back in Chicago. This time around, the Hawks felt like they had a chance to take down the high-octane Leafs squad. The first time that […] Toronto Maple Leafs barely able to beat the Chicago Blackhawks – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for directing obscene language toward a fan during a game in Atlanta.

The fine was announced Sunday by Byron Spruell, the president of league operations.

It stems from an incident Friday night when a fan heckled at Durant with 28 seconds to go in the second quarter of the Nets’ 113-105 victory over Hawks.

In video taken courtside that was posted on social media, an off-camera fan can be heard yelling, “Durant, stop crying!” before Durant responds using multiple expletives.

Durant scored 31 points, including the go-ahead jumper midway through the fourth quarter, in the win.

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The Chicago Bulls‘ teamwide COVID-19 outbreak continued to spread on Sunday, when Zach LaVine and Troy Brown Jr. entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Their additions bring the Bulls’ total to nine players in the league’s COVID-19 protocols since the start of the month.

LaVine and Brown join DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Javonte Green, Matt Thomas, Derrick Jones Jr., Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson as players all sidelined right now. Bulls broadcasters Stacey King and Bill Wennington are also at home in isolation because of the league’s protocols.

The Bulls do not play again until they host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, but Chicago currently has nine players available on its roster, and White and Green will be eligible to rejoin the team this week. The NBA used an eight-player minimum as a threshold before postponing games during team outbreaks last season.

Because the Bulls have positive cases, their players are required to test every day. Current guidelines don’t require players on many teams to be tested daily. Players who are vaccinated — but not boosted — will be tested on game days beginning on Friday. Unvaccinated players are required to test daily, and non-boosted Johnson & Johnson-vaccinated players were required to begin game-day testing earlier this month.

The NBA says 97% of its players are vaccinated, and sources told Wojnarowski that more than 60% of players are boosted.

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The Chicago Bulls‘ teamwide COVID-19 outbreak continued to spread on Sunday, when Zach LaVine and Troy Brown Jr. entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Their additions bring the Bulls’ total to nine players in the league’s COVID-19 protocols since the start of the month.

LaVine and Brown join DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Javonte Green, Matt Thomas, Derrick Jones Jr., Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson as players all sidelined right now. Bulls broadcasters Stacey King and Bill Wennington are also at home in isolation because of the league’s protocols.

The Bulls do not play again until they host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, but Chicago currently has nine players available on its roster, and White and Green will be eligible to rejoin the team this week. The NBA used an eight-player minimum as a threshold before postponing games during team outbreaks last season.

Because the Bulls have positive cases, their players are required to test every day. Current guidelines don’t require players on many teams to be tested daily. Players who are vaccinated — but not boosted — will be tested on game days beginning on Friday. Unvaccinated players are required to test daily, and non-boosted Johnson & Johnson-vaccinated players were required to begin game-day testing earlier this month.

The NBA says 97% of its players are vaccinated, and sources told Wojnarowski that more than 60% of players are boosted.

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As the Chicago Bears prepare for their Week 14 matchup in Green Bay, it’s becoming more and more clear that the team is preparing to clean house and start over with a new regime next season. On Sunday, CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora wrote on the Bears situation and had a new report connecting them to a former player and a current college head coach.

La Canfora mentions a scenario in which former offensive lineman Trace Armstrong and current Ohio State head coach Ryan Day are hired by the team next season. Armstrong would assume a top management position and would bring in Day to be the head coach:

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Chicago Bears tight end Jimmy Graham wasn’t all that offended by Aaron Rodgers telling home fans he owned them before the Green Bay Packers left Chicago with a win back in Week 6. 

The Packers QB caused quite the stir by shouting “I still own you” to the home support nearing the end of the contest. And, with the teams set to square off again this coming Sunday at Lambeau Field, Graham is keen on shutting Rodgers up.

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The Chicago Bears have five games remaining in their 2021 season and all indications are that head coach Matt Nagy is on his way out and possibly general manager Ryan Pace as well. It would take a five-game win streak and a deep run in the playoffs with Justin Fields to show a big step forward.

We aren’t the only ones operating under the assumption that Nagy will be gone, either.

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Friday night in the NBA saw blowouts, close calls, shining stars and more.

LeBron James joined Michael Jordan in another elite, yet elderly basketball category after a get-right game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LaMelo Ball offered an analysis of his team’s game against the Sacramento Kings and Kevin Durant started a little trouble in Trae Young‘s house in Atlanta.

Those three games were part of a nine-game selection of NBA fare. Here’s a recap of what you might have missed from what was served up around the association:

James can change the outcome of a game, and the Lakers realized that against the Thunder.

Los Angeles was 0-2 against OKC entering Friday’s matchup — and James didn’t play in the previous two games either. He left his imprint on this game, finishing with 33 points, six assists and five rebounds in a rout of the Thunder. He’s averaged 27.1 points, 5.8 boards, and 7.1 dimes in his past 10 games, joining Jordan as the only players to average 25-5-5 in NBA history at age 36 or older in that span.

Rookie Tre Mann led the Thunder with 19 points off the bench, but it was an underwhelming performance from OKC otherwise.

Play of the Game: James scored a season-high 23 points in the first half and finished with 33 in 35 minutes. He scored his last two points emphatically and the Lakers’ social media had the perfect angle.

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Durant and Young dropped 31 points apiece, but their close encounter late in the contest was the noteworthy part of their matchup.

They were both assessed with technical fouls, but the incident did not escalate.

“He wanted me to get out of his space and I understand that,” Durant said of the brief scuffle.

Despite the loss, Young joined a notable group that includes “His Airness” and Russell Westbrook as the only players with 25 points and 10 assists in five straight games since the NBA-ABA merger. Jordan’s lone streak of the impressive stat line was 10 games long in 1989, and Westbrook tallied two five-game stretches putting up such numbers during his 2017 MVP season with the Thunder.

Play of the game: KD set the tone early as he rejected Young’s attempt with authority in the first quarter.

A short-handed Charlotte squad managed to end Sacramento’s three-game winning streak as Ball, P.J. Washington, Terry Rozier and three other Hornets were unavailable for the home team Friday night.

The Kings missed multiple field goal attempts down the stretch. De’Aaron Fox missed two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining that helped the Hornets escape with a win.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Kings became the only team in the past 25 regular seasons to miss multiple free throws in the final three seconds of a fourth quarter or overtime period while trailing by one point.

Play of the game: Charlotte rookie James Bouknight, the 11th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, came off the bench and took advantage of his extended playing time. Bouknight went off for a career-high 24 points, with 18 coming from behind the arc.

During this stretch in the third quarter, he scored on three straight offensive possessions.

Although he couldn’t be present for the action, Ball still supported his team from a distance and tweeted through the game’s final moments.

The Rockets became the only team in NBA history to have a 15-game losing streak and a seven-game winning streak in league history. On Friday night it appeared that they may be able to keep the magic going and win an eighth consecutive game as they were able to hold a late eight-point lead and keep up with the Bucks for most of the contest.

However, Antetokounmpo’s dominant 41-point, 17-rebound performance proved to be too hot for Houston.

Play of the game: Antetokounmpo’s night was highlighted by his offensive contributions, but he also notched two big swats that moved him up to the top spot as Milwaukee’s all-time blocks leader.

The reigning Finals MVP humbly acknowledged his latest feat, but he was already looking ahead to his next challenge.

“It’s big time, a great compliment to my career, but I’ve got to keep getting better, keep defending better,” Antetokounmpo said.

The Knicks looked less than stellar in the first quarter, trailing by as much as 20 points. However, they battled back to tie the score with 4:43 left in the second quarter, courtesy of a much-needed spark provided by Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.

Both teams exchanged leads and missed crucial shots in the game’s final minutes. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett missed two potential game winners for New York in the last three seconds as Toronto held on for a victory.

Play of the game:Gary Trent Jr.’s late-game 3 proved to be one of the difference-makers.

The Raptors’ win came without the sideline support of superfan Nav Bhatia, who missed a home game for the first time since the team was founded in 1995. “This is the toughest post I have had to make…My heart is breaking right now,” Bhatia wrote on Instagram. He attended a charity gala with Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, so Bhatia chose to miss the game out of an abundance of caution.

Kal Penn, who is set to produce and star in a biopic about Bhatia being the first fan to join Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, filled in for him at the game.

ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this story

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