The scuffle between Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets players Monday night led to four ejections and the possibility of further punishment handed down to Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart along with Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges.
What began as a face-to-face confrontation between Duren and Diabate quickly spiraled into punches being thrown and Stewart running off the bench to get involved after escalation had continued.
It’s clear that the Pistons and Hornets were part of a contentious matchup from the beginning that finally boiled over in the third quarter.
Detroit’s camp is adamant that their players were acting in self defense at the time, even if players on both sides acknowledge that the physicality and emotion is all part of the game.
“We go back and forth, it’s a basketball game at the end of the day,” Diabate said Tuesday. “We’re going to be competitive, we’re going to talk, we’re going to be physical and I’m completely OK with that.
“I fouled him, we get into each other’s face, I’m fine with that...where it took a different route was when he put his hand in my face. Obviously, it’s unfortunate but I got pushed out of control by emotions.”
Diabate says it was the act of Duren putting his hand on his face and pushing him away after they were jawing face-to-face that caused him to snap.
It was what Bridges called “the most disrespectful thing you can do.”
“There was a lot of things that built up,” Bridges said. “But you see Jalen push Moussa in his face, like that’s the most disrespectful thing you can do. After that things just went left.”
Bridges’ involvement came after the initial intensity between Duren and Diabate died down. The former Michigan State forward met Duren at mid-court and proceeded to throw punches at him.
This in turn led to Stewart entering the fray to exchange blows with Bridges. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Stewart joined in the chaos after seeing multiple players go at Duren and reacting on human instincts to “protect his little brother.”
Bridges said he was doing the same, standing up for Diabate.
“I want people to know I’m always going to protect my teammates,” Bridges said. “You don’t want anybody coming into our arena and thinking they can do whatever, especially to my teammates.”
Now all four players await potential suspensions for the fight. All are likely to receive at least one game, but there’s potential for more.
Because Stewart left the bench while not in the game, that should mean at least another one-game tacked on. He’s also a repeat offender with a notable brawl with LeBron James from 2021 and a three-game suspension for punching Drew Eubanks in a 2024 matchup.
Bridges may also be viewed as a repeat offender as he was suspended 30 games in 2023 for his role in a 2022 felony domestic violence incident against the mother of his two children.
While the Pistons and Hornets wait for word from the NBA on punishment severity, it seems like players are quickly moving on from the incident as the All-Star break nears.
“It’s basketball. We’re competitors, we play a game and we try and play it at 100%,” Diabate said. “Emotions are going to get involved sometimes, that’s an understanding everybody has when we get on the court.”