In a sign of how frustrating Saturday night’s loss was for the Hawks, Alan Henderson threw the ball nearly 100 feet over a grandstand after not getting a call during the third quarter.
And in an unintentional show of marksmanship, the ball hit teammate Dikembe Mutombo’s daughter in the head.
Mutombo’s adopted daughter, Nancy, 13, was treated by local medical personnel and was not hospitalized. Police on the scene said she was woozy after being hit in the face by the ball, which bounced before it hit her.
Henderson later visited her at the first-aid station and apologized but did not answer questions from the media.
Neither team shot the ball well, but Milwaukee’s Glenn Robinson made one that counted. His pull-up jumper from 14 feet with 53.1 seconds left was the game-winner, even if it almost didn’t go in.
The ball hit the front of the rim and bounced about 5 feet straight up before dropping through.
“It felt good out of my hand, so I was surprised it hit the rim,” said Robinson, who led all scorers with 21 points. “Sometimes you shoot shots that you know are good when they leave your hand, and that was one of them.”
The Hawks missed a three-pointer on their next trip, and Ray Allen was fouled by Smith–even though Smith thought he cleanly blocked Allen’s shot. Allen, who hadn’t scored all game, shot 3 of 4 from the line in the last 18 seconds to ice it.
