Hawks Fan Suffers Leg Injury on Video During Layup Competition at Game vs. Blazers
The Atlanta Hawks lost Tuesday's home game to the Portland Trail Blazers, but that was far from the only bad news for one fan at State Farm Arena.
During a timeout break, two fans competed in a tic-tac-toe game where they had to make baskets to get pieces for the board at center court. However, one of the competitors fell while going for a layup and immediately grabbed at his knee.
Hawks' in-game host Shamea Morton ended up navigating the situation and eventually stopped the other competitor while they went over to check on the one who had fallen.
The entire thing was also shown live during the NBA League Pass broadcast.
Stephen Douglas of Sports Illustrated noted the game was even delayed as the fan was taken off the floor on a stretcher.
For those wondering, Kevin Chouinard of the Hawks' official website confirmed it was not an April Fool's Day prank and indeed a real injury.
The game eventually continued, and the Trail Blazers came away with a 127-113 victory. Shaedon Sharpe (33 points and 10 rebounds) and Deni Avdija (32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists) stuffed the stat sheet in the winning effort for Portland.
Atlanta has now lost three of four and is tied with the Orlando Magic in the seventh and eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The No. 7 seed will host the first play-in game against the No. 8 seed.
