The Pistons-Timberwolves game erupted into a full-blown brawl Sunday night, with seven players and coaches getting tossed after a chaotic second-quarter fight.
What started as a simple foul quickly spiraled out of control in Minnesota, giving fans an unexpected dose of NBA drama.
Detroit’s Ron Holland II took issue with being called for a foul on Naz Reid during a layup attempt. He immediately got in Reid’s face, setting off a powder keg that had been building all night.
Isaiah Stewart and Donte DiVincenzo had been going at each other the entire game with pushes and bumps. DiVincenzo finally snapped when Holland started confronting his teammate Reid.
Then all hell broke loose.
Players from both benches rushed in, creating a massive courtside melee that was hard to follow as bodies piled on top of each other.
Even after security managed to separate the players, the coaching staffs started going at each other on the sidelines.
Referees needed a full 10 minutes to sort through the chaos before making their decisions.
When the dust settled, seven people were ejected: Holland, Stewart, Marcus Sasser and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff from Detroit, plus Reid, DiVincenzo and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni from Minnesota.
“There was things said by their assistant coach,” Bickerstaff explained after the game. “We’re going to defend each other. I’m not going to let people say belligerent things about my guys.”
The fight seemed to energize the Timberwolves, who overcame a 14-point deficit to win the game despite losing two key bench players.
It’s one of the biggest brawls of the NBA season so far, and league officials will likely be reviewing the footage for potential additional suspensions in the coming days.
