Tempers flared during the Monday night battle between the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons.
Considering the history of these two young and scrappy teams, Monday's on-court altercation didn't come as a surprise. As a result, multiple players were ejected from the action.
From Charlotte's side, Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges were sent to the locker room early.
The All-Star Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart were ejected from Detroit's side.
It all started from a foul on Jalen Duren. The one-time All-Star Diabate and Bridges swiftly got involved. After Duren was shoved, all players on the court started getting involved, as coaches and security ran on to break everything up.
Stewart wasn't on the court at the time of the incident, but he rushed over to get involved. All players were soon ejected early on during the third quarter. The Pistons held a 12-point lead at the time.
Diabate left the court after playing in 19 minutes. He came down with six rebounds and turned the ball over twice. As for Bridges, he was struggling with his shot through 20 minutes of action. He left the court after going 1-6 from the field, 0-3 from three, scoring just six points. He also had four rebounds, one assist, and three turnovers.
As for Duren, he was having quite a productive night. After returning from a minor injury, Duren produced 15 points in 20 minutes of action. He also came down with five rebounds, dished out two assists, and came up with a steal. Isaiah Stewart checked in for 11 minutes off the bench. He had two points on 1-2 shooting.
Monday's game might not be high stakes for the first-seeded Pistons, but the Hornets are looking to improve their league-leading winning streak. At 25-28, the Hornets have won nine games in a row. They have worked themselves into the NBA Play-In picture and were hoping to make a big statement against the Pistons on Monday.
Detroit is comfortable in the Eastern Conference's top spot. They are 38-13, holding a 5.0 lead over the New York Knicks.
The league will certainly review Monday's altercation, and multiple players could be facing a suspension as a result.
Newsweek