The NBA has suspended Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren as well as Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate following Monday night’s brawl between the two teams.
The quartet were all ejected following a melee in the third quarter of the Eastern Conference encounter – which Detroit went on to win 110-104 at the Spectrum Center.
Pistons centre Stewart has been slapped with a seven-game ban for his involvement, Hornets forwards Bridges and Diabate got four each and Detroit big man Duren is out for two.
Stewart got the heaviest penalty as the NBA said it was based in part on his ‘repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts’. The league said he left the bench area, aggressively entered an on-court altercation and fought.
Bridges and Diabate were punished for fighting and escalating the altercation, while Duren got two games for initiating the altercation and fighting.
The suspensions will begin immediately, with Stewart and Duren missing Wednesday night’s game at the Toronto Raptors. Bridges and Diabate will be out Wednesday night as the Hornets host the Atlanta Hawks.
Stewart has been suspended five times, including once for an altercation with LeBron James in 2021. He was suspended twice last season, including last April in an altercation with the Minnesota Timberwolves that spilled over into the stands.
How the Charlotte Hornets-Detroit Pistons NBA brawl began
Duren was driving toward the basket when he was fouled by Diabate. Duren turned around to get face-to-face with Diabate and the two appeared to butt heads, the former then hit his opponent in the face with his open hand and things escalated from there.
While Pistons forward Tobias Harris was holding Diabate back, Diabate threw a punch at Duren. Duren walked away and Bridges got involved by charged at him, throwing a left-handed punch. Duren retaliated with a punch. Diabate attempted to charge again at Duren and had to be held back.
Stewart left the bench to confront Bridges, who responded with a punch, and the players tussled. At one point, Stewart rushed to throw a punch at Bridges and missed, but Stewart appeared to get Bridges in a headlock and delivered multiple left-handed blows toward his head.
Duren spoke after the game, calling it an ‘overly competitive game’. He added: ‘Emotions were flaring. At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.’
Following practice on Tuesday, Diabate apologized to the Hornets organisation and to the fans for his role in the altercation and vowed not to let it happen again. ‘When he put his hand in my face, that’s when I think I lost control of it,’ he reflected.
The Pistons are in first place in the Eastern Conference, while Charlotte are 10th and fighting for a play-off spot. The Hornets had won nine straight games – one shy of tying a franchise record – before losing to Detroit.
