Back In The Day, March 16, 1998: Grant Hill Posterizes Alonzo Mourning After Scuffle
When Grant Hill was with the Detroit Pistons, he was known as one of the most ferocious dunkers in league history.
At an early age, Hill had already dunked on the likes Patrick Ewing and others. On March 16, 1998, he added Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning.
Mourning was one of the most intimidating defenders at the time. He was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in blocks twice during his Hall of Fame career.
But on this day 26 years ago Mourning lost. And it was bad.
Here are the details:
The Heat were playing the Pistons, who were led by Hill. At the time, Hill was considered among the players waiting to take over Michael Jordan's throne atop the NBA. Injuries prevented that from ever happening but Hill did get the best of Mourning before ankle problems slowed him in the early 2000s.
It all started when Mourning hit Hill with a hard screen while the Pistons were on defense. It led to Hill, who obviously didn't like it, wrestling Mourning to the ground.
Hill refused to let that be the end of it. On the next possession, Hill drove the lane and finished with a strong dunk in Mourning's face. It wasn't the first time Mourning was dunked on (See Bill Wennington). It wasn't the last time, either (See Vince Carter).
But the fact it came right after a scuffle made it much more intense.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com.
