Four players tossed after brawl in Pistons-Hornets game
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter of Monday night’s game resulted in four players being ejected.
Moussa Diabaté and Miles Bridges of Charlotte were eliminated, as were Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart of Detroit. Hornets coach Charles Lee was ejected in the fourth quarter after having to be restrained from attacking an official while discussing a call.
The Pistons won the game 110-104.
Duren had the ball and was driving to the basket with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter when he was fouled by Diabaté. Duren turned around to find himself face to face with Diabaté, and the two seemed to be confronting each other. Duren then pushed Diabaté in the face with his open right hand, sparking a confrontation that lasted more than 30 seconds and ultimately ended with a brief police presence on the field.
As Pistons forward Tobias Harris held Diabate back, Diabate threw a punch at Duren. Duren moved away and Bridges charged at him, throwing a left-handed punch. Duren retaliated with a punch. Diabate tried to charge Duren again and had to be restrained.
Stewart came off the bench to confront Bridges, who responded with a punch, and the players fought. At one point, Stewart put Bridges in a headlock and delivered several left-handed blows to his head.
Duren called it “too competitive a game.”
“Emotions were running high,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’d like to keep basketball, but things happen. Everyone was playing hard.”
Duren said opposing NBA teams have been trying to “get in our heads” all season.
“This is not the first time people have tried to be very aggressive with us and talk to us no matter what,” Duren said. “But as a group, we did a good job handling that energy and intensity. Ultimately, emotions got high with everyone being competitive. Things happen.”
Duren did not specify how the fight began, instead referring to the video replay.
The Hornets did not make Bridges and Diabaté available for interviews after the game.
However, Bridges took to Instagram Monday night to say, “Sorry, Hornets nation! Sorry, Hornets organization.! I will always protect my teammates forever.”
Lee added, “It seemed like two guys had a heated conversation, and from there it kind of took a turn.”
Team manager John Goble said in a pool report after the match that the players were ejected because they “engaged in fighting activities during the dead ball. After review, we assessed the fighting fouls and, per the rule, they were ejected from the game.”
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff then defended his players.
“Our guys are dealing with a lot, but they weren’t the ones who started the game, they weren’t the ones who got across the finish line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear, out of frustration, because of what JD [Duren] what he was doing, that they crossed the line. I hate that it got as ugly as this.
“It’s not something you ever want to see, but if a guy punches you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself. That’s what happened tonight. If you watch the film, they were the ones who started crossing the line, and our guy had to fight back.”
Tensions continued to rise at the Spectrum Center after the fight.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Lee was ejected and had to be restrained by Hornets forward Brandon Miller while yelling at the officials for a non-call after Charlotte’s Grant Williams collided with Detroit’s Paul Reed.
“Grant was walking in the paint and barely touched anyone, and the guy fell and that’s what we’re going to call a foul,” Lee said. “They struggled to make those decisions, but I don’t think that was the consistency that they were called upon for the rest of the game.”
As for his expulsion, Lee said he needed to have more control over his emotions.
