The NBA on Sunday postponed a total of five games involving nine teams in response to rising coronavirus numbers, raising the number of contests that have been pushed back this season to seven.

Called off were three Sunday games: Cleveland at Atlanta, Denver at Brooklyn and New Orleans at Philadelphia. Also shelved were Orlando’s game at Toronto on Monday and Washington’s game at Brooklyn on Tuesday.

The postponements came on the same day that Atlanta announced star guard Trae Young entered the league’s health and safety protocols and the Los Angeles Lakers said Coach Frank Vogel also was added to the list.

Leaguewide, through Sunday evening, there were at least 75 players from 20 teams who have either been ruled out to play – or in the case of the postponed games, would have been ruled out – because they are in the protocols. That number has soared in recent days, with the NBA just one of many sports leagues worldwide dealing with a rapidly worsening issue.

U.S. officials are expecting a wave of breakthrough infections among the vaccinated given the surge of holiday travelers and gatherings expected in the coming days. The NBA has said 97% of players are fully vaccinated and somewhere around 60% had received boosters as of last week. It was not clear how many of the current positive cases involve those who are ineligible for a booster shot or those who have chosen not to receive one.

Also not clear is how many of the NBA cases involve asymptomatic players. The NFL has revised its protocols so that only unvaccinated players and those experiencing possible symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested. The NHL has five teams shut down through Christmas because of outbreaks, and numerous college games at all levels have been canceled in recent days.

“It is what it is. Just trying to stay safe as possible and that’s all you can do,” Lakers guard Russell Westbrook said of the NBA’s rising numbers. Westbrook was briefly in the protocols late last week, before returning at least three negative coronavirus tests and being cleared to return to play without missing a game.

The league and the National Basketball Players Association have been discussing a plan in which teams in desperate need of players would be able to sign reinforcements to 10-day contracts but without those deals impacting salary cap and luxury tax figures. That deal has not yet been finalized, though talks are continuing.

The Cavaliers had five players enter the protocols on Sunday, the team said. All five – center Jarrett Allen, forwards Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler and guards Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard – tested positive for COVID-19, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not release that specific detail.

They joined Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley, who entered the protocols previously.

Vogel won’t be on the bench when his Lakers play Sunday at Chicago. David Fizdale will coach in Vogel’s place, the Lakers said. The Bulls are returning to the court after having two games postponed last week.

Chicago still doesn’t have all of its players back yet, either. Among those listed as out Sunday and still in protocols is Olympic gold medalist Zach LaVine.

Through Saturday’s games, those were the only games the NBA had pushed back during this outbreak. But on Sunday, the league added significantly to the list of postponements, with teams simply not having enough players to compete.

Brooklyn alone has 10 players, plus some staff, in the protocols.

“It’s just crazy,” Nets forward Blake Griffin said.

Brooklyn’s list of players in protocols includes Kevin Durant, James Harden and – even though he’s still not yet able to play – Kyrie Irving, who has sat out all season for not complying with New York City’s vaccine mandate. The team reversed course Friday and said Irving would be welcomed back “for games and practices in which he is eligible to participate,” knowing he’d still miss two games at the Knicks and trips to Toronto and Golden State.

The Nets had eight available players for Saturday night’s game against Orlando. The Magic had nine, including four players – Aleem Ford, Hassani Gravett, B.J. Johnson and Admiral Schofield – who were signed late last week to hardship contracts because of virus issues and injuries decimating Orlando’s roster.

Here’s how necessary they were: Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley had all four on the court together in two separate stretches of Orlando’s win.

SUNDAY’S GAMES

KINGS 121, SPURS 114: Buddy Hield scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and made seven 3-pointers to help Sacramento beat San Antonioin Sacramento, California.

Tyrese Haliburton added 27 points and matched his career high with 11 assists, Damian Jones scored a career-high 23 points, and Harrison Barnes had 14 points and seven rebounds. The Kings won for the second time in six games.

Hield had only five points before making back-to-back 3s late in the third quarter. He opened the fourth quarter with a mid-range jumper and scored on a pair of driving layups, then made four 3s over the final five minutes.

TRAIL BLAZERS 105, GRIZZLIES 100: Damian Lillard scored 32 points, Norman Powell added 28 and Portland won in Memphis, Tennessee to snap the Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak.

Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 37 points for Memphis. The Grizzlies lost for the second time in their last 12 games.

Powell scored 20 in the second half to give the Trail Blazers their second straight victory after they snapped a seven-game losing streak with a home victory over Charlotte on Friday night.

PISTONS 100, HEAT 90: Saddiq Bey scored 26 points and Detroit won at home snapped its franchise record-tying, 14-game losing streak with a victory over Miami.

Hamidou Diallo had 15 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, which recorded its first victory since a 97-89 triumph over Indiana on Nov. 17. Frank Jackson added 12 points and Killian Hayes chipped in 11.

Max Strus led the Heat with 24 points off the bench. Kyle Lowry had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Dewayne Dedmon added 11 points for Miami, which had won four of its last five.

SUNS 137, HORNETS 106: Devin Booker had 16 points in his return to Phoenix’s lineup and the NBA-leading Suns set a season-scoring high in a victory over Charlotte in Phoenix.

After missing seven games because of a hamstring injury, Booker played 26 minutes, and sat out the fourth quarter with Phoenix well ahead. The Suns improved to 24-5, moving a half-game ahead of Golden State.

Phoenix had nine players score in double figures. Javale McGee had 19 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Mikal Bridges also scored 16 points. Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Landry Shamet also scored 15 points, Jae Crowder and Chris Paul had 14 each, Cam Johnson 12 and Cameron Payne 11.

TIMBERWOLVES 111, MAVERICKS 105: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 and Minnesota beat Dallas in Minneapolis in another matchup between short-handed teams dealing with recent COVID-19 issues.

Dallas, already without star guard Luka Doncic, placed two players in the health and safety protocols the past two days. Minnesota added Josh Okogie to the protocols and Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince each missed their second game while in the protocols.

The Mavericks then lost forward Kristaps Porzingis in the third quarter with right foot soreness. Porzingis finished with 13 points and three rebounds.

BULLS 115, LAKERS 110: DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points after missing two weeks in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, leading Chicago to a victory over visiting Los Angeles.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Lonzo Ball added 19 points as the Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak. It was Chicago’s first game since Dec. 11 after two were postponed.

LeBron James had 31 points, Carmelo Anthony added 21 and Russell Westbrook 20 as Los Angeles dropped its second straight.