With Detroit heading into All-Star break in firm position of first place in the Eastern Conference at 40-13, which qualifies the squad for Phil Jackson’s vaunted 40-20 rule, the Pistons were recently dealt a blow when the NBA handed down a seven-game suspension and a two-game suspension to Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren respectively. 

Both Duren and Stewart were involved in a major altercation with Charlotte Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate in a fight that spanned well over one minute in duration. A confrontation had been brewing all game between JD and Diabate with the All-Star center putting up 15 points (5-for-7 FGs), while Diabate was held scoreless before his ejection. 

Battling in the post, both Duren and Diabate were talking to each other throughout the first half. Now, the two players are very familiar with each other– Diabate and Duren faced off in high school when JD played for Montverde Academy and the Hornets player suited up for IMG Academy. In a recently surfaced clip that appears to show the aftermath of that matchup, Duren is shown yelling at IMG as his squad walks across the court, clearly still flowing with energy after what looked to be a heated game. Whether that prior meeting played a role in Wednesday night’s fight is unknown, but after Diabate put a hard foul on Duren in the third quarter, the two parties met in the paint for the flashpoint of a brawl involving both teams. 

After Diabate fouled Duren, the former charged towards the latter and lowered his forehead for the first action that created contact between the two sides. Duren responded by face-palming Diabate while pushing his head back, and the Hornet lost his cool. 

Duren stepped backwards and began to chuckle as Diabate shoved multiple staff members, even throwing one to the ground, before he charged after Duren to get another piece of him. 

Quickly, Diabate emerged from the crowd, apparently looking for another piece of JD, but the All-Star quickly pivoted once he realized that he was being pursued and put his dukes up to defend himself if Diabate started to swing again. Diabate noticed that Duren had squared up, and he appeared to pull out of the clash at the last second before JD actually began to fight as other people stepped in to separate the two parties. 

After that, Miles Bridges wrapped around and ran at Duren to deliver a punch while JD was already restrained. It is unclear whether the punch glanced off Duren’s chin or not, but it was not enough to rattle JD even if it connected. 

That’s when Isaiah Stewart threw his hat into the ring. 

Charging over from the Detroit bench with ice packs still strapped to his knees, Stewart raced over to confront Bridges for attacking his teammate. Stewart opted to open with a lead right hook, which Bridges promptly ducked. From there, Bridges looked to shoot for a double-leg takedown, but Stewart defended the shot with strong hips and the footwork becoming of a true post player. 

From that point, Stewart did his best to deliver a few punches to Bridges while he was still within arm’s reach. Before the two players were separated, Stewart grabbed a hold of Bridges’ hair to presumably keep the two within striking distance, but cooler heads eventually prevailed as both parties were ejected from the game. 

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Stewart would receive the heftiest suspension out of the group and will be forced to sit out seven games. Duren was hit with a two-game suspension, and both Hornets players received four-game suspensions for their roles in the altercation. 

As far as the league was concerned, Beef Stew’s actions were the most egregious, so he received the longest suspension, but he was not the one to instigate the brawl. Instead, that honor should be shared by Diabate and Duren. Diabate was the first player to create contact, while JD amplified the situation by wrapping his hand all the way around Diabate’s face. 

So, the true answer to this question likely comes down to who is tasked with providing the answer. Hornets fans were adamant on social media that Duren deserved all of the blame for his heinous activity, but Pistons supporters were predictably speedy to back their All-Star center. 

Frankly, Diabate started the confrontation by initiating contact, then Duren applied all the accelerants necessary to turn a couple quick sparks into a forest fire that stretched across the court. 

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.