Detroit Pistons were the latest feature in yet another NBA episode of boys ‘flexing their powers.’ This time it was against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The game started smoothly with Detroit looking for their fourth consecutive win without their star. However, things took a dramatic turn in the second quarter resulting in Detroit losing thief head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser.
The Timberwolves were not left out as nothing they did showed sportsmanship. So, forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo were also sent out of the court. Assistant coach Pablo Prigioni was ejected too. It was a horrible mess. But how did the squabble begin?
It was early in the second quarter and the Pistons were doing well. They were bent on recording another win and they were on the path already. With 8:30 left in the quarter, the Pistons were already ahead by nine points. Then, from a little argument, all hell broke loose.
Stewart had fouled DiVicenzo and moments later, Holland was the next on the list when he aggressively calmed the ball out of Reid’s hand near the baseline. It was suspicious and totally uncalled for. One would wonder if the Piston players planned to hurt their opponents together before they came out of the locker room.
Responding to the foul, Reid got close to Holland and they started arguing. DiVicenzo, who was previously fouled by Steward got in between them and held Holland’s jersey. Soon, it was chaos on the field with players, coaches, and even assistants shoving each other.
While team personnel managed to separate the crowd and get the players away from each other, a verbal battle between Coach Bickerstaff and Prigioni continued. It was an embarrassing sight to behold since the coaches should be the ones cautioning their team players.
At the end of the game, the Timberwolves fought a good fight, coming from a 16-point lag to take the lead, beating the aggressive Pistons by 19 points. The game also recorded 12 technical fouls, the highest in two decades.
