Detroit Pistons forward / center Isaiah Stewart will likely receive a bit of discipline in the near future
Before Hornets forward Moussa Diabate fouled Pistons center Jalen Duren in the third quarter of Monday night’s game, Detroit and Charlotte had already engaged in a physical affair. But after that point, all bets were off.
Diabate put a hard foul on JD, then the two went chest-to-chest as the All-Star center placed his hand on the Charlotte defender’s face to push him away. From that point, Diabate was enraged and fought through a collection of staffers and teammates as he chased down Duren looking for a fight.
At that stage, Duren retreated to a safer distance but put his hands up when Diabate wrestled through the crowd to continue the dispute. After a few moments, Hornets forward Miles Bridges ran towards Duren and threw a punch towards JD’s chin.
That’s the moment when Isaiah Stewart ditched his position on the Pistons’ bench and made a beeline for Bridges. Presumably, Stewart was out there to defend his All-Star center during the fracas, but Beef Stew wasted little time and fed the Hornets player with a few punches of his own. It’s difficult to discern just how many punches landed in the bench-clearing brawl, but there were swings from both sides as all four players were ejected from the game.
Here is a clip below of the initial confrontation:
Given how strict the NBA is regarding players leaving the bench to engage in a fight, Stewart is likely looking at a lengthy suspension once the league hands down its punishment. Now, Stewart was suspended twice last season, once in the season before that and an additional, fourth suspension was served for charging at LeBron James in what became a famous, bloody clip from a few years ago. Given that extensive history in altercations, Stewart is going to receive Repeat Offender status from the league, which will not be generous in terms of the time Beef Stew will miss.
As for Duren, his role in the fight was much less pronounced, though he did initiate contact at the start. Duren mostly backed away from an incensed Diabate, but Stewart proceeded to insert himself into the brawl and made sure to fire off a few hooks before the fight ended.
After the fight dissipated and the involved parties left the court, Hornets head coach Charles Lee took exception to a foul call during the fourth quarter, and he was ejected as well after jawing at the officials. So, a total of five individuals were ejected from the Pistons’ six point victory on Monday night, which snapped the Hornets’ nine-game winning streak heading into tonight’s contest.
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