At the arena in Target Center, Minneapolis, a clash in the second quarter between the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves led to the ejection of five players and two coaches in a heated confrontation. This incident occurred at 8:36 in the first half as the Pistons were leading 39-30.
The crossing of fists began when Pistons center Isaiah Stewart was given a technical foul for a hard bump into Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo after the whistle. Shortly after, Ron Holland II of the Pistons was whistled for a foul for hitting the ball out of the hands of Timberwolves forward Naz Reid during a play close to the baseline. From there, Reid and Holland began to talk trash back and forth, and things were carried on by DiVincenzo, who grabbed Holland’s jersey. A physical confrontation then ensued with all ten players on the floor, as well as many coaches and trainers.
Angry exchanges were soon seen between Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni; team personnel had to separate the combatants. The fight was taking place a good 20 feet away from Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, who went to assist a child who had gotten caught in the tumult.
The officials decided to have Pistons players Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland II, Marcus Sasser, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff ejected. The Timberwolves saw Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni all getting ejected from the game. The game saw the issuing of a total of 12 technical fouls, which is the highest in any game in the NBA since March 23, 2005.
Following the game, Bickerstaff commented, “Obviously things went too far.” He explained that what was evident was players looking out for each other, trying to protect one another, and having each other’s backs, emphasizing that such actions are fundamental in their locker room.
On the other hand, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch noted that he felt the game had become excessively physical leading up to that moment. He described the situation as unfortunate, acknowledging the opposing team’s reputation for physical play.
Finch expressed his concern that it reached a point where players felt compelled to take matters into their own hands, stating, “You don’t ever want that.”Despite all the interruptions, the Timberwolves came back from a 16-point deficit early on to win this contest against the Pistons by 123-to-104. Julius Randle led the way with 26 points for Minnesota, Anthony Edwards added 25 points, and Rudy Gobert dominated with 19 points and a season-high 25 rebounds. The latter scoring was led by Malik Beasley for Detroit with 27 points, followed by Tim Hardaway Jr. with 20 points.
The NBA is expected to take the incident under review and might hand down more fines and suspensions to whoever was involved. Stewart has had a series of events on the court, increasing the penalty given to him for this incident; he had also been ejected on January 29, 2025, due to a flagrant foul, and he had been ejected earlier on March 30 because of an altercation.
Pistons and the Timberwolves have finalized their regular-season confrontations, and now all have to wait to see the way this occurrence impacts their later matches.
