Multiple Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets players were involved in an altercation during the game Monday night, leading the NBA to suspend them.
The Detroit Pistons pulled out a 110-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, but it proved to be a costly contest for both sides. During the third quarter, a bench-clearing brawl made the physical game take a dramatic turn. As a result, the NBA announced Wednesday that Pistons center Isaiah Stewart would receive the highest penalty in the form of a seven-game suspension. Detroit center Jalen Duren received a two-game suspension for initiating and participating in the brawl. Hornets forward Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate were suspended four games for participating and escalating the altercation.
Stewart has a "repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts" that the league announced played a role in his heaviest suspension. Those suspensions will all begin immediately, with Stewart and Duren set to miss Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. Charlotte will be without Bridges and Diabate starting Wednesday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks.
Here is the full story from Pistons Roundtable writer Eric Rutter on the bench-clearing brawl and the impact to Detroit’s next few games.
Stewart has been suspended five times in his career, the most noteworthy being in 2021 following an altercation with superstar Lebron James. He was suspended twice last season, including in April with a fight against the Minnesota Timberwolves that bled into the stands. The quartet of suspended players were all ejected from the win after the third quarter brawl, and now, both teams will have to deal with the consequences for the next several games. They are all quite costly as well, with Stewart’s $724k fine being the most hefty.