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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team won a “bizarre, sad” game at the Minnesota Timberwolves in a “sombre atmosphere” after the fatal shooting of an intensive care nurse by immigration agents in Minneapolis.
The death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday was the second time in less than a month an American citizen has been killed by federal agents in the city, and has sparked angry protests both locally and in other parts of the US.
The Timberwolves held a minute’s silence for Pretti before Sunday’s game, which was punctuated by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chants from fans.
An ICE operation in Minnesota ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration has been going on for more than six weeks. ICE agents have the power to stop, detain and arrest people they suspect of being in the US illegally.
Renee Good, another Minnesota resident, was shot and killed by an ICE agent on 7 January.
“Honestly, what I felt was that [the Timberwolves’] group was suffering,” said Kerr after the Warriors’ 111-85 win.
“It was one of the most bizarre, sad games I’ve ever been a part of. You could feel the sombre atmosphere.
“Their team, we could tell they were struggling with everything that’s been going on. And what the city has been through. So it was a very sad night.”
Warriors forward Moses Moody, who scored 19 points with eight rebounds and two blocked shots, said you could “feel the weight of the city” during the match, which had been postponed for 24 hours after Pretti’s death.
“I couldn’t imagine too many different times where that large amount of people are together in the midst of a situation like this, so you definitely felt that,” said Moody.
Stephen Curry led the scoring for the Warriors with 26 points to climb level with Paul Pierce at 19th on the all-time scoring list – finishing the game with 26,397.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points and recorded 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost a fifth-straight match.
