Minneapolis — The Detroit Pistons’ three-game road trip started with chaos on Sunday. At the 8:36 mark of the second quarter, Ron Holland II got into a physical altercation with Minnesota Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo. The fight began when Holland fouled Naz Reid, who was driving downhill. Reid retaliated by pointing in Holland’s face. As Holland attempted to confront Reid, DiVincenzo shoved the rookie forward, igniting a brawl.
The situation escalated when Marcus Sasser and Isaiah Stewart became involved, resulting in a significant skirmish. The altercation led to Holland, Sasser and Stewart each being ejected. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff was also thrown out of the game after a confrontation with Minnesota’s assistant coach, Pablo Prigioni.
The ejections left the Pistons significantly short-handed, leading to a 123-104 loss at Target Center. Detroit’s three-game winning streak came to an end and the overall record dropped to 42-33 overall.
The Timberwolves began to take advantage of the short-handed Pistons in the third quarter. Behind 20 points in the period by Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves outscored Detroit, 38-23. Edwards finished with 25 points, while Julius Randle added a team-best 26 points and eight rebounds. Rudy Gobert finished with 25 rebounds and 19 points.
Prior to the game, there was a slight chance that the Pistons would get a third of their starting lineup back. Tobias Harris, who missed Friday’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers, was listed as probable due to right Achilles Tendinopathy.
All signs pointed toward Harris returning to the lineup, especially considering that the veteran forward spent all of pre-game going through his warm-ups. However, he was a late scratch right before team introductions. Cade Cunningham missed his fourth consecutive game due to a calf injury.
As a result, Malik Beasley had one of his best scoring performances of the season, with a team-best 25 points and six made triples. He scored 18 points during the first half, as the Pistons held a 60-54 lead by intermission.
Before the fight that led to seven ejections, the Pistons appeared to be on the verge of another impressive win. By the end of the first quarter, they held a 16-point lead (34-18). At the time the dust-up began, the Pistons led by 10 points (39-29).
Jalen Duren posted his 37th double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. Ausar Thompson finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
Observations and notes vs. Timberwolves
▶ Streak ends in Minnesota: After 30 games, the Pistons were outscored by the Timberwolves 52-40 in points in the paint. Detroit ends its streak out-scoring its opponents from the inside with the third-longest since the 2012-13 campaign, trailing the 2013 Denver Nuggets (52) and Milwaukee Bucks (31).
▶ Record when playing without Cunningham: Following the loss, the Pistons drop to 5-4 without their All-Star guard, who is recovering from a calf contusion.
▶ Finch endorses Bickerstaff for COTY honors: Before the game, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch praised Bickerstaff for Coach of the Year honors. In his view, the competition for the annual award is not even close, given the work Bickerstaff has accomplished in his first season leading Detroit.
Up next
The Pistons will continue their road trip on Wednesday with a nationally televised game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They will then end their trip against the Raptors on Friday in Toronto. Tip-off between the Thunder and Pistons is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. at Paycom Center.
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