MINNEAPOLIS – Five players and two coaches were ejected Sunday after the Detroit Pistons got into an on-court brawl with the Timberwolves in the middle of the second quarter.
With the Pistons leading 39-29 with 8:36 left before halftime, Naz Reid drove to the hoop and got fouled by Ron Holland.
After the play, Reid went up to Holland and started pointing a finger in his face. Donte DiVincenzo shoved Holland, who pushed back. The two got locked up in a shoving match and it escalated quickly, with everyone on the court getting into the scrum.
Isaiah Stewart was in there, as was Marcus Sasser, Simone Fontecchio, and, to a lesser extent, Malik Beasley.
The scuffle moved toward the front row behind the basket before eventually calming down. Stewart was one of the last Pistons still trying to get after DiVincenzo.
Frustrations flared even before this play when Holland collided hard with DiVincenzo. Even though he’s a rookie, Holland has been a bit of an enforcer for the hard-nosed Pistons this season.
Holland, Stewart, Sasser, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff were ejected for the Pistons. Reid, DiVincenzo, and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni got tossed for Minnesota.
The Pistons went into halftime with a 6-point lead. Their largest lead of the first half was 16 points.