The NBA has announced that five players have been suspended as a result of Sunday’s melee between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars has suspended Pistons forward/center Isaiah Stewart for two games, while Detroit forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser will sit for one game, as will Timberwolves center-forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo.
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Stewart’s discipline history played a factor in why he was given an additional game.
Reid and DiVincenzo will miss Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Holland II, Sasser and Stewart will begin their individual suspensions on Wednesday.
Scuffle spills over into the crowd
The dust up took place with 8:36 left in the second quarter after Holland fouled Reid as Reid attempted a layup. Reid immediately had words for Holland and pointed toward his face.
DiVincenzo was nearby and stepped in between the two as they approached each other. DiVincenzo then put his hands on Holland’s torso, and the two traded hard shoves.
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Holland continued to stare down Reid before DiVincenzo grabbed Holland by his shoulders and wrestled him toward the ground. From there, it was on.
Multiple players and coaches from both teams joined in the melee that spilled into the baseline stands behind the Pistons basket. Some got involved. Others, like Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, tried to pull players off the pile.
DiVincenzo ended up back down into the second row of the stands with Stewart on top of him. Fans in the immediate area held out their arms to brace themselves.
Calm was eventually restored as the players and coaches involved were pulled out of the pile. The ruckus resulted in seven ejections, including Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant Pablo Prigioni.
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Reid, DiVincenzo, Stewart and Holland were also ejected. As was Sasser.
Bickerstaff called out Prigioni after the game, though it’s unclear what Pirigioni said that set him off.
“We’re going to defend each other,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m not going to let people say belligerent things about my guys, and it’s that simple … In that moment, I understand the ref’s position. But you just can’t say anything to people or about people and expect it to be OK.”
Detroit held a 39-29 lead when the fight broke out. The Pistons were down three players in the aftermath, and the Timberwolves down two. Minnesota outscored the Pistons from there by 29 points and rallied for a 123-104 win.
The Pistons were issued four technical fouls. The Timberwolves issued three. That tally resulted in one technical free throw for the Timberwolves, that Mike Conley hit. Luka Garza subbed in and hit two free throws for the foul on Reid after Reid was ejected.
The game then carried on with the better part of three quarters left to play.
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