Pistons-Timberwolves Game Erupts Into Brawl, Seven Ejected
A heated matchup between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves turned ugly Sunday night when a second-quarter altercation led to seven ejections in Minnesota’s 123-104 victory.
What started as typical NBA trash talk quickly escalated into one of the season’s most chaotic scenes.
The trouble began when Timberwolves forward Naz Reid drove to the basket on a fake dribble handoff, taking a hard foul from Pistons rookie Ron Holland. The contact seemed to be the breaking point after tensions had been building throughout the game.
Reid immediately confronted Holland face-to-face. The two exchanged words in a heated but still relatively controlled moment.
That’s when things really got out of hand.
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo rushed in to back up his teammate, putting his hands near Holland’s neck area – the action that transformed a standard NBA confrontation into a full-blown melee.
Players from both benches quickly joined the fray.
When officials finally restored order, they handed out ejections to five players: DiVincenzo, Reid, Holland, Isaiah Stewart, and Marcus Sasser. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were also tossed.
While both teams will likely point fingers, video replay shows DiVincenzo was first to make physical contact beyond the initial foul, putting his hands on Holland’s neck area.
“The game was getting too physical,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said afterward, suggesting the officials had lost control before the incident.
Bickerstaff took a different view, expressing pride in his team’s response.
“I’m proud of our guys for standing up for themselves and not backing down,” the Pistons coach said.
The bad blood is especially surprising considering these teams only face each other twice per season. Detroit actually won their previous meeting 119-104 back in January.
This incident could spark an unexpected rivalry between the cross-conference teams when they meet again next season.
The league office will now review the altercation, with suspensions and fines likely coming in the next few days.
