Minnesota's Donte DiVincenzo, center, grappled with Detroit's Ron Holland II as other players and team staffers converged on the scene. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Five players were suspended after an altercation between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves that spilled into the stands, the NBA said Tuesday.
The punishments, levied by league operations head Joe Dumars, included a two-game ban for Pistons forward-center Isaiah Stewart. Detroit forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser and Minnesota center-forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo got one-game suspensions.
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Stewart was sidelined for a longer period because of what the NBA described as “his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
The incident occurred in the second quarter of a game Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis, following a technical foul issued to Stewart for making contact with DiVincenzo after a whistle had blown. Minnesota center Rudy Gobert responded to that act by confronting Stewart before officials separated the two, and Timberwolves guard Mike Conley made a technical free throw.
Holland then drove for a layup against Reid and had something to say about it (via ESPN). On the next possession, Reid drove to the basket, but his layup attempt was denied when Holland swiped across his arms. Reid approached Holland, wagging a finger, as did DiVincenzo, who made contact with the Pistons rookie.
Holland then pushed DiVincenzo, who went back at him, at which point the altercation turned into more of a wild scrum. Several other players and team staffers swarmed to the scene, which was taking place near the Pistons’ basket. Holland and DiVincenzo, still grappling with each other, were pushed by the growing horde past a row of photographers, reaching seats occupied by fans.
While the game paused for several minutes as the players were separated, Pistons Coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant Pablo Prigioni had a verbal altercation. They were subsequently ejected, as were the five players eventually suspended.
A fight breaks out between the Pistons and Timberwolves
Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Ron Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, Pistons HC J. B. Bickerstaff and Wolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were all ejected pic.twitter.com/TJA3OczOxB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 31, 2025
“Obviously things went too far,” Bickerstaff, who was not suspended, said of the incident. “But what you see is guys looking out for one another, guys trying to protect one another, guys trying to have each other’s backs. … Those are non-negotiables in our locker room.”
DiVincenzo was said by the NBA to have “escalated the incident by shoving Holland II in the chest.” The league said Stewart and Sasser “entered the altercation near the spectator stands and shoved DiVincenzo and Reid, which resulted in a continued escalation of the situation.”
Stewart, a fifth-year player whose burly physique and bruising style have earned him the nickname “Beef Stew,” received an automatic one-game suspension in January after picking up his sixth flagrant foul point of the season. He was given a two-game ban in 2021 for a physical altercation with the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and was suspended for three games last season after a pregame fight with center Drew Eubanks, then of the Phoenix Suns. An initial charge of misdemeanor assault filed against Stewart at the time was subsequently dismissed.
While the episode took place in Minneapolis, the fact that Pistons players were involved in a melee that reached the stands reminded some observers of the so-called “Malice at the Palace,” an infamous 2004 brawl at the Pistons’ home arena involving members of their team and the Indiana Pacers. In that incident, several Pacers players went into the stands to fight with fans, and among the lengthy suspensions levied by the NBA then was a near-year-long ban for Indiana’s Ron Artest.
At the time, Dumars was the Pistons’ president of basketball operations after a standout career as a player for the franchise. Now in charge of league matters such as player conduct and discipline, his decision regarding the Detroit-Minnesota fracas will have Reid and DiVincenzo sidelined for the Timberwolves’ game Tuesday night at the Denver Nuggets. Holland and Sasser are set to sit out the Pistons’ game Wednesday at Oklahoma City, and Stewart will miss that plus a game Friday at the Toronto Raptors.
Minnesota Coach Chris Finch said Sunday he thought the game had been “way too physical” before the melee erupted.
“It’s unfortunate, but we knew they were a super physical team,” Finch said of the Pistons. “They hit you, they hold you, all the stuff that you want your physical teams to do. But I just thought it got to a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands. You don’t ever want that.”