Source: David Berding / Getty
of competition begins to boil over.
The latest on-court confrontation occurred during Sunday’s game, when the
Minnesota Timberwolves played the
Detroit Pistons at home in the Target Center.
With about eight and a half minutes left in the half, as the Pistons were up 39-30, tensions began to rise when
Isaiah Stewart got a tech after bumping into
Donte DiVincenzo after the whistle. Then, Ron Holland II caught a foul when he slapped the ball out of Naz Reid’s hands. As they began to jaw at each other, DiVincenzo stepped between them, grabbing Holland’s jersey and attempting to swing him around.
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Immediately, all 10 players jumped into the melee, which spilled over into the first row of fans sitting along the baseline. Both teams’ staff members ran to break up the mob of players as pushing and punching commenced.
Once players were separated and began returning to their respective benches, even opposing coaches were seen having heated altercations, namely between Pistons head coach
J.B. Bickerstaff and Wolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.
The Wolves eventually won the game 123-104, but not before a long list of ejections was named.
Holland, Stewart, Marcus Sasser, and Bickerstaff were kicked out on the Pistons’ side, and Reid, Divincenzo, and Pablo Prigioni were kicked out on the Wolves’ side.
The Pistons were already shorthanded, with Cade Cunningham, Tobias Harris, and Jaden Ivey on the bench, so the win wasn’t entirely unpredictable.
The NBA has yet to announce
fines and suspensions, but that didn’t stop Bickerstaff from speaking his mind in the post-game press conference and explaining his moment with Prigioni.
“There was things said by their assistant coach. I’m in the same boat my guys are in,” he said. “We’re going to defend each other. I’m not going to let people say belligerent things about my guys, and it’s that simple.”
Both teams have similar records, but the Wolves are seventh in the West, just behind the Warriors, and the Pistons are fifth in the East.
See how social media is reacting to the brawl below.
