The Charlotte Hornets have signaled a massive shift toward postseason contention by acquiring dynamic scorer Coby White from the Chicago Bulls. In exchange, the Hornets sent fan-favorite Collin Sexton to Chicago. The Hornets are betting on the North Carolina native as they aim to end a decade-long playoff absence. By DIAMOND VENCES| ROD BOONE
Moussa Diabate wasn’t having it.
The Charlotte Hornets big man reached a boiling point with Detroit’s Jalen Duren on Monday night and simply had enough.
“When he put his hands on my face, that’s kind of when I lost control of it,” Diabate said after practice on Tuesday. “Obviously, that’s when it happened.”
Diabate was involved in the fight that led to four ejections during the Hornets’ 110-104 loss to the Pistons at Spectrum Center. Miles Bridges, along with Duren and Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, got tossed out in the third quarter following a lengthy brawl that sprawled across nearly an entire half of the court.
The expectation is for all four to be suspended by the NBA sometime later Tuesday.
Diabate and Bridges each showed remorse for the incident, with Diabate mentioning it’s not a reflection of him and has no problem in the sport. Bridges noted how he’s always going to protect his teammates, but also had a little Monday Morning quarterbacking about his own regarding his involvement in the ordeal that inflamed an already intense game between two of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
“I should have just went to Moussa and made sure he was good,” Bridges said. “It’s a learning experience.”
What happened in the Hornets-Pistons fight
With 7:09 remaining in the second half and the Hornets facing a 70-62 deficit, a foul was called on Diabate after he got tangled up inside the paint with Duren. Upon slowly approaching each other, Diabate put his head down to butt up against Duren’s forehead and Duren proceeded to swipe at Diabate.
Diabate and Duren started to go at it, leading to chaos that spilled over into the stands. Diabate got fired up for a second time moments later, storming toward Duren again while being held back by Hornets’ team security members.
“We go back and forth, it’s a basketball game at the end of the day,” Diabate said. “So, we’re going to be competitive, we’re going to talk, we’re going to be physical. And I’m completely OK with that.
“So, I fouled him, we get into each other’s face, which is fine. It’s basketball. When he put his hand on my face, obviously it’s unfortunate but at that point I lost control of my emotions.”
Bridges didn’t like what Duren did and pointed at him, sparking another fracas when Stewart, who wasn’t even in the game, came off the bench and confronted Bridges, prompting Bridges to tackle him like a linebacker.
“There’s a lot of things built up,” Bridges said. “Jalen pushing him in his face, that’s the most disrespectful thing you can do. And then after that things went left.”
Detroit has had Charlotte’s number in recent seasons
Detroit has had the Hornets’ number in recent seasons and Bridges previously suggested the Pistons always try to punk them, using bully and scare tactics to intimidate. That was apparently the case again this time around and the Hornets delivered a message.
And not of the subtle variety.
“Yeah, they tried it, but we’re not going for that,” Bridges said. “I feel like we showed everybody that we’re not going for that. Like I said, we’ve got to be better next time and don’t let them get under our skin.”
That’s why the Hornets truly believe this whole ordeal can only help them.
“I think it did,” Diabate said. “The team is different, we’re moving different. We understand that we’re trying to accomplish something here, and all know that it’s very much possible. That is what we’re trying to get to and we’re going to use that as a learning experience.
“I think it’s definitely set the tone for sure.”