Things completely boiled over in the third quarter of Monday night’s Pistons vs. Hornets matchup at the Spectrum Center.
With just over seven minutes left in the third, Pistons’ center, Jalen Duren, was driving to the basket when he was fouled by Hornets’ center, Moussa Diabate. Duren turned to confront Diabate, the two appeared to exchanged words and butt heads before Duren pushed Diabate in the face. The heated exchanged resulted in the confrontation escalating into a brawl, which eventually led to a brief police presence on the floor.
On-court brawl during Monday night Pistons and Hornets game at Spectrum Arena in Charlotte, NC; Photo Credit: Getty Images
While Tobias Harris, Pistons forwrd, tried to hold Diabate back, Diabate threw a punch at Duren. Duren walked away, but Hornets forward, Miles Bridges charged in and threw a left-handed punch, prompting Duren to retaliate. Diabate attempted to rush for Duren again before being restrained.
The chaos escalated further when Pistons center, Isaiah Stewart, left the bench to confront Bridges. Bridges threw another punch, the two tussled, and at one point Stewart put Bridges in a headlock and landed multiple left-handed blows.
In total, four players were ejected: Duren and Stewart for Detroit, Bridges and Diabate for Charlotte. Hornets coach Charles Lee was later ejected in the fourth quarter while arguing a no-call and had to be restrained.
After the game Duren told a reporter the match up was a “overly competitive game,” citing that “Emotions were flaring….At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.”
Moussa Diabate on-court heated moment against Piston center, Jalen Duren; Photo Credit: Getty Images
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defended his players actions after the game, telling reports quote,
“Our guys deal with a lot, but they’re not the ones that initiated, they’re not the ones who crossed the line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear, through frustration, because of what J.D. was doing, that they crossed the line. I hate that it got as ugly as it got.“
“That’s not something that you ever want to see, but if a guy throws a punch at you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself. That’s what happened tonight. If you go back and watch the film, they’re the ones who initiated crossing the line, and our guy had to defend himself,” Bickerstaff added.
Hornets coach Charles Lee is restrained by his players after getting heated with a referee over a no foul call; Photo Credit: Getty Images
Hornets coach, Charles Lee, also spoke out after the game, telling reporters quote, “It looked like two guys got into a heated conversation, and it just kind of spiraled from there.”
After the game, Bridges took to Instagram Story, apologizing to Hornets fans for his involvement: “Sorry Hornets nation! Sorry Hornets Organization.! Always gonna protect my teammates forever.”
