Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A colony of wild bats flew around the AT&T Center, delaying a game between the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets.
The interruption prompted the crowd to chant the name of former Spurs star Manu Ginobili, who once had to bat away a bat during a game on Halloween in 2009 at the same arena.
The latest batty sequence came in the first quarter of the Spurs' 117-114 victory against the Nets on Thursday in San Antonio. There was 7:30 remaining in the opening frame before the Nets had a turnover.
Referees then blew their whistles for a stoppage in play as the group of at least five bats swarmed around the arena. The bats flew near both benches and over the court, forcing one official to dodge the creatures.
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BATS! BATS EVERYWHERE! Um, hey @Spurs? Like, this might be taking that "home court advantage" thing a smidge too far...#NETSonYES live stream: https://t.co/7Ex2w9Xbni pic.twitter.com/Y7X0siKm6n
- YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 1, 2019
Some players and coaches held up towels to protect themselves, while others hid in the tunnel.
Arena staff members eventually went onto the court and ironically used "nets" to catch the bats so that the game could continue.
Spurs fans chanted "Manu" while bats flew around the court pic.twitter.com/YTDCqwx4Vo
- ESPN (@espn) February 1, 2019
"Bat problems at Spurs game?! Where's @manuginobili when we need him," Spurs legend David Robinson tweeted.
"We all talked about it [Ginobili]," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "Everybody mentioned it."
Derrick White scored a game-high 26 points in the win. D'Angelo Russell had 25 points for the Nets.
