Thursday night's game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat was postponed because of condensation on the United Center court, the NBA announced after a nearly two-hour delay for a scheduled 8 p.m. ET tip-off.

The game will be rescheduled, and its date will be announced at a later time, per the league. 

On an uncharacteristically warm January day in the Windy City, temperatures hovered in the mid-50s with close to 90% humidity outside, along with a heavy dose of rain.

The United Center doubles as the home of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. The ice underneath the floorboards was melting along the edges of the hardwood, per The Athletic, which reported that Thursday marked the first time an NBA game has been rescheduled due to slippery conditions since March 6, 2017. That's when similar unseasonably weather led to an unplayable court in Minneapolis, shelving a Minnesota Timberwolves home game versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

"We always want to try to go,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following the postponement, via The Athletic. "Players were complaining about it on both sides, so, as a staff we went out there and pretty much immediately we thought it wasn’t playable. 

"We have that in our practice facility [in Miami] when there is condensation, it takes about 15 minutes for it to change. But this is a huge building. We weren’t optimistic it was going to change."

Water was visible on the court moments before the game was supposed to start, according to The Athletic's report, which cited league sources when noting that, as of 8:30 p.m., the humidity inside the arena was nearly double (60%) what it usually is (30%) for a typical basketball game. 

Crew chief Sean Wright told Chicago Sports Network's K.C. Johnson in the pool report interview that players pointed out the slippery conditions with 9:13 remaining on the warmup clock. It was at that time, Wright said he checked the court and notified the replay center about the situation. 

Wright was asked why the decision to delay took as long as it did.

"We weren’t notified until 9:13 on the warmup clock, that’s why it went down to the zeros," he said.

Wright later added, via the pool report: 

"Player safety is always the most important, despite the efforts by the United Center to rectify the situation. We were unsuccessful in doing so, and we decided that player safety was the most important, and we just couldn’t guarantee a safe on-court experience."

While maintenance staffers were mopping up moisture on the hardwood, players passed the time. They hung out on the floor, chatting with each other and getting up shots, per Johnson, who reported that Bulls wing Isaac Okoro and guard Jevon Carter were even playing a game of HORSE or PIG.

At one point, Benny the Bull banked in a backward half-court shot in front of Tyler Herro, earning a dap from the Heat star to the tune of some cheers from the crowd, as captured by The Athletic's Joel Lorenzi. 

Around 8:50 p.m., the teams returned to their locker rooms for the first time, as the delay continued to drag on, according to the Associated Press.

Then, around 9:25 p.m., game officials and Heat players and coaches, followed later by a collection of Bulls players, came back out onto the court, per the AP.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and Spoelstra were seen chatting.

Without trying to warm up again, the teams left the court again at approximately 9:45 p.m., as reported by the AP.

Soon after, the NBA announced the game's postponement. And the Bulls announced that tickets for Thursday's matchup will be valid for the makeup game.

The Bulls (17-20) have lost three games in a row and are off Friday. The Heat (20-17), who were set to play the second of four straight road games Thursday, are also off Friday. 

The problem is, the United Center will be in use for hockey. The Blackhawks are penciled in for a Friday night home game against the Washington Capitals.

So the rescheduled Heat-Bulls game might not be for a bit.