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.
An hour before Utah’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, a stray bat disrupted the pregame shooting routines of Jazz stars like 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 scary. I was not comfortable with that at all. I’m relieved the Bear got him because I wouldn’t have been able to finish my warmup. If he was still flying around out there, I would’ve headed 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, the individual is ex-San Antonio Spurs star, Manu Ginobili, who is renowned for hitting a bat to the floor and catching it during a game versus Sacramento on Halloween night, 2009.
http://twitter.com/kylekuzma/status/1088972630919544834
Where is Manu when you need him. https://t.co/JFlF7Kyr4C
— kuz (@kylekuzma) January 26, 2019
