An unprecedented NBA boycott to protest racial injustice continued on Thursday as playoff games were postponed for a second straight day, but an extraordinary breakthrough is around the corner after players voted to resume the coronavirus-disrupted season in the second urgent meeting in the last 15 hours.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement that the league hoped to return to play on Friday or Saturday and confirmed that a group of players at Disney would hold a video conference call with representatives of the owners and National Basketball Players Association to discuss the next steps.

The NBA community is still seething over the succession of police scandals, with the shooting of Jacob Blake the latest source of collective anger.

"We obviously agree that whether we play or not, we still have to do our best to make change and we still have to do our part in the community," said Orlando guard Michael Carter-Williams.

"It's obviously not easy, given everything that's going on. But I think that if we can go out there and do our best and also have a list of things that we want to accomplish, everything gets completed."

Initial reports revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers had voted to scrap the season on Wednesday night, as superstars including LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard expressed a strong desire to return home.

But according to ESPN, NBA legend Michael Jordan played a vital role in persuading players to soften their stance. As the only black majority owner in the league, the Charlotte Hornets boss held a series of discussions with the NBA Players Association.

"Michael is the perfect person to be in this role," a league source told ESPN. "He's been a high-profile player who has won championships. He's also the owner of a small-market team. He has great credibility both with the players and the owners."

U.S. sports take a stand

In solidarity with NBA, a series of U.S. sports games were also called off. For the second night, the NHL announced that four games scheduled for Thursday and Friday had been postponed,

"After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight's and tomorrow's games as scheduled," the league said in a statement. "The NHL supports the Players' decision and will reschedule those four games beginning Saturday and adjust the remainder of the Second Round schedule accordingly."

Later on, the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) released a joint statement explaining their decision.

"Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences," read the statement. "The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice."

"We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment. We pledge to work to use our sport to influence positive change in society," it added.

Meanwhile, the WNBA also postponed Thursday's games and three MLB games on the same night were canceled.

"We're in this together -- this fight for equality and social justice,” Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. "In this world, I've always believed, there's two things you can't live without. It has nothing to do with food and water. It's love and hope. And I don't think we're doing a good job in our country giving that to everyone and I think that needs to be the focus here."

The Players Alliance, a group of 124 current and former MLB players, announced that current players will donate their salaries from Thursday and Friday in "supporting our efforts to combat racial inequality and aid the Black families and communities deeply affected in the wake of recent events."

Donald Trump hits out

The ongoing protest across U.S. sports provoked the ire of President Donald Trump, who denounced the league has become like "a political organization," during a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Hurricane Laura.

"They've become like a political organization and that's not a good thing. I don't think that's a good thing for sports or for the country," Trump told reporters on Thursday. Earlier this month, Trump also said some of the NBA players are "very nasty" and "frankly very dumb."

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser, told U.S. media outlet CNBC that NBA players were lucky to have enough money so they could skip work to protest, adding that they have "put a lot of slogans out" rather than "actual action."

Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, also attempts to dismiss the significance of NBA boycotts. "I don't know that you're going to see the administration weigh in on that one way or the other. In my mind, it's absurd, it's silly," he said during an interview with CNN.

"If they want to protest, I don't think we care," he added.