The Hawks' real-life mascot, Spirit, decided to have some fun during Game 2 at Philips Arena on Wednesday night, refusing to immediately go to his handler.
The bird perched on the scoreboard at tipoff, refusing to go to his handler, then flew around the arena before spending time on the lower deck and atop Atlanta's shot clock.
"Somebody has to get this bird out of here," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"You see Al Horford duck and run, I was like, 'Let me run for cover as well,' " Miami's Dwyane Wade said. "It was kind of weird having the hawk fly around. It's hard to play with your back to that hawk on the backboard."
Players refused to continue playing when they saw the Hawk, and the game was halted at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter until the handler was able to corral the bird.