Warriors forced to evacuate arena after loss to Jazz

Friday night didn’t go quite as planned for the Golden State Warriors. But by the time they were in their plane, headed back to San Francisco, the loss to the Utah Jazz probably didn’t feel like that big of a deal.

The reason? A bomb-sniffing dog found a package at Vivint Smart Home Arena, and evacuations were ordered shortly after the game finished. Only a few Warriors players got in their media obligations before players, media members, staff, and fans were forced to leave the arena.

Thankfully, the alert was a false alarm. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau reported that the mysterious item in question - a shoebox - actually had tools inside it.

Salt Lake City Police Lt. Carlos Valencia told Fox 13 that a suspicious shoebox was found under a table at a restaurant inside the arena at around 9:30 p.m. A bomb-sniffing dog got a positive hit on the package, which prompted arena staffers to evacuate everyone — fans, players, coaches — from the building.

After the box was X-rayed by the bomb squad, it was found to contain standard tools such as wrenches.

All’s well that ends well, but surely a scary moment for everyone in the arena. And it certainly puts a basketball game in perspective.