The Detroit Pistons will be forced to play without two important big men tonight against the Raptors
After one full day with official comment from the league, the NBA announced on Wednesday morning that Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren will be suspended for two games for participating in the bench-clearing brawl against Charlotte, while Detroit forward / center Isaiah Stewart is suspended for seven games.
This will mark the longest suspension of Stewart’s career, who has fallen under the thumb of league discipline four times in his career already, though this will be his longest league-mandated absence thus far. With the Pistons set to take on the Toronto Raptors tonight, both Duren and Stewart will be unavailable for the contest, which elevates Paul Reed into a starting spot for the next couple games.
During the second half against the Hornets, Duren and Charlotte forward Moussa Diabate were both engaged in a physical battle, one that JD was getting the better of through two quarters. After a hard Diabate foul that JD took exception to, the Pistons All-Star pushed Diabate’s face away, and that absolutely set off the Michigan product.
From there, Diabate started to launch a few errant punches as Duren backed up to a safer distance while smiling and laughing. Not long after, Diabate wrestled a staffer to the ground to continue pursuing Duren, both the two never made direct contact after the initial dust up.
At that point, the situation was ramping down when Hornets forward Miles Bridges re-inserted himself into the fight. Bridges darted across the court to punch Duren while he was being ushered off the court, and Beef Stew couldn’t keep himself on the bench after that.
Once Bridges swung on JD, Stewart raced onto the floor with ice packs still wrapped around his knee to engage with his new enemy. Bridges ducked a lead right hook from Stewart, so Beef Stew called an audible with Bridges in a headlock and began to feed him a few heavy punches, but there were too many people involved to discern how many shots landed.
Both players were ejected from the game, and the Pistons went on to secure a tough six-point victory over a Hornets squad that brought an active nine-game winning streak into the Eastern Conference matchup, one that could foreshadow a playoff series in a few month’s time.
Diabate and Bridges were both suspended four games a piece for their role in the brawl.
Duren will be able to participate in the All-Star Game this weekend, so Detroit fans will have an opportunity to see the big man in action soon enough.
The Pistons take on the Toronto Raptors tonight at 7 pm in their last game before the All-Star Break.
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