The Timberwolves have been awarded a game in Mexico City for the second straight year, matching up against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 12.
That's right Mexico City, we're back. HOU at MIN, Nov. 12 at Mexico City Arena.
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) May 29, 2014
Last year’s scheduled game in Mexico City against the San Antonio Spurs did not go according to plan. An elevator fire in the arena sent smoke everywhere and forced the game to be pushed back to April 8 at Target Center. The Timberwolves won the make-up game 110-91.
For the second consecutive year, the game in Mexico City will also result in the Timberwolves losing a home game, as they are considered the home team in this matchup.
The Timberwolves will play in one of two NBA regular season games outside of the United States. The Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks will travel across the pond for a game in London on Jan. 15.
There will also be five preseason games overseas this year, including games in Germany, Turkey, Brazil and China.
The NBA says the Wolves were chosen to play out of the country due to their international makeup. There are seven international players on the Wolves roster:
- Ricky Rubio–Spain
- JJ Barea–Puerto Rico
- Gorgui Deng–Senegal
- Luc Mbah a Moute–Cameroon
- Nikola Peckovic–Montenegro
- Alexey Shved–Russia
- Ronny Turiaf–France
Timberwolves President Chris Wright said in a news release that the team is proud to represent the NBA in Mexico.
“This is a great opportunity for the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves to continue the incredible growth of our international fan base,” Wright said. “The Mexico City fans were phenomenal last year and we look forward to visiting them again this season.”
This is the second year in a row that the NBA has scheduled one regular season game in Mexico City and one in London. The Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks played in London on Jan. 16. The NBA has played 147 preseason or regular season games overseas in its history.
The rest of the Timberwolves 2014-2015 schedule is expected to be released soon, according to the team’s website.
