Jazz mascot nets bat on court before game vs. Timberwolves
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It took a bear — Jazz Bear — to catch a bat and leave the high-flying hijinks to the NBA players.
About an hour before Utah’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, a stray bat disrupted the pregame shooting routines of Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio as it flew around the court inside the Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The few thousand fans in the building took turns cheering and then groaning while watching the flying mammal zip around the arena and elude several security guards and an on-court employee armed with a net.
Jazz Bear took a break from entertaining the crowd by taking a few swings himself before finally capturing it — with nothing but net.
vs. pic.twitter.com/0xFYmy34M9
— Jazz Bear (@utahjazzbear) January 26, 2019
The proud mascot strolled off the court with the big catch, to the wild cheers of the fans.
“After Utah’s 106-101 win, Mitchell admitted, “That was frightening. I was completely uncomfortable with it. I’m relieved the Bear took care of it, as I wouldn’t have completed my warmup. If it was still flying around, I would have retreated to the locker room.”
The whole thing quickly became a social media hit, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma appropriately tweeted : “Where is Manu when you need him.”
Of course, that’s Manu Ginobili, the former star of the San Antonio Spurs, who is known for swatting a bat to the hardwood and capturing it during a game against Sacramento on Halloween night in 2009.
http://twitter.com/kylekuzma/status/1088972630919544834
Where is Manu when you need him. https://t.co/JFlF7Kyr4C
— kuz (@kylekuzma) January 26, 2019
