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Jazz-Kings game delayed after courtside fan vomits, forcing Jazz bench to clear

The Utah Jazz experienced a bizarre delay of game late in their 123-105 win against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday that players, coaches and fans alike said was a first for them.

A Kings fan sitting courtside at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento vomited on the court, causing the Jazz bench he was near to suddenly clear, forcing a 15-minute delay while it was cleaned up.

"That was something," said Jazz coach Quin Snyder, via KSL News in Salt Lake City.

Snyder said the fan had been heckling him and got in a joke at the fan's expense, via Deseret News:

“He was razzing me through the whole game,” Snyder said. “Well, at least through the first three quarters.”

The Jazz were up 14 points in the first minutes of the fourth quarter when it happened. Players on the bench covered their noses and ran away.

“I can’t even lie, I was just focused on getting out of the way," Donovan Mitchell said, via the Deseret News. "I didn’t pay attention to anybody else. Just, no parts. I wanted no parts of that.”

Added Rudy Gobert: "Life is full of surprise. I hope he's OK. … I kind of made eye contact with him, too. He was smiling — smiling and throwing up at the same time."

The fan was escorted out and the arena displayed its alcohol policy on the big screen, stating that intoxicated patrons will be ejected. It's unclear if it was because of overconsumption or something the fan ate. Fans in the front row were moved out of the way.

There was, to be blunt, apparently a lot of it.

"He was just throwing up; it was like continuously," Jordan Clarkson said, via KSL News. "To that kid, we all had nights like that; it happens — drink a little bit too much. I hope he's good. Drink a little Pedialyte, get his electrolytes, drink some water and stuff. Tomorrow, he'll be straight. Everybody has been there before."

When a stoppage was called, the arena's DJ played the Beatles song "Help" while the crew cleaned it up.

"Shout out to the cleaning crew because I definitely wouldn't have cleaned it up," Clarkson said, via KSL. "It would have probably stayed there for a long time if I was part of that."

The Kings mascot, Slamson the Lion, even got in with the cleaning crew and not-so-politely offered a giveaway of sorts.

The Jazz (11-5) had a fun time riding out the delay while the Kings dropped to 6-11 after a third straight loss. The Kings fired coach Luke Walton the following morning.