Five players and two coaches, including Argentine Pablo Prigioni, were ejected after a violent brawl erupted in the second quarter of the NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night in Minneapolis.
Detroit lost their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II, and shooting guard Marcus Sasser. Minnesota was left without forward Naz Reid and shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo, along with assistant coach Prigioni.
“Obviously things went too far,” Bickerstaff said. “But what was seen was teammates standing up for each other, trying to protect each other, trying to have each other’s backs... Those are non-negotiable aspects in our locker room.”
Why did the fight happen?
The skirmish began with 8:36 to play in the half, with the Pistons leading 39-30. Stewart had received a technical foul moments earlier when he pushed DiVincenzo hard after the whistle. Then, Holland was called for a foul for hitting the ball out of Reid’s hands near the baseline.
The two exchanged words, DiVincenzo stepped between them and grabbed Holland’s shirt, and soon all ten players on the court and several coaches and trainers got involved in the altercation.
While the players were being separated, Bickerstaff and Prigioni shouted at each other and had to be separated by team staff.
The whole scene unfolded near Alex Rodriguez, former Major League Baseball star and ex-boyfriend of Jennifer Lopez, who is now the new owner of the Timberwolves. Rodriguez actually approached from his court-side seat after the incident and seemed to ask for help for a young fan who got caught in the middle of the scuffle.
The game featured 12 technical fouls, the highest number in an NBA game since March 23, 2005, according to OptaSTATS.
The Timberwolves recovered from an early 16-point deficit to beat the Pistons 123-104.