A series of physical altercations at the halfway point of the Wizards-Pistons matchup has the Internet questioning if this is really just a preseason clash. In a non-regular season setting where we’re not used to the star players getting this intense, tempers flared between multiple players of the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons, resulting in referees ejecting Trae Young and Daniss Jenkins.

With the Wizards clinging to a narrow 62-60 lead midway through the third frame, a lull in the game turned physical. Pistons’ Jenkins went up to Washington’s newest guard, Young and shoved his shoulder against him. Words were exchanged, and it turned into a heated physical argument.

As both guards refused to disengage and continued shouting at one another, Washington big man Anthony Davis, and Detroit forward Ronald Holland II quickly stepped in to separate the combatants. Referees and more teammates intervened.

Officials initially assessed double technical fouls to both players. However, because both Young and Jenkins continued their vocal back-and-forth while ignoring referee directives during the official review, the officiating crew assessed a second set of double technicals. That triggered automatic ejections for both guards, a rarity in preseason games, which has the Internet baffled as much as the players.

Broadcast replays captured Young looking on in complete disbelief as he received his second technical foul and was directed toward the locker room. He had played over 20 minutes at that point and had only two points, but was phenomenal with eight assists. Jenkins had 12 points and 4 assists across 18 minutes of action.

The sudden ejections stripped both teams of dynamic backcourt playmakers in the second half. Young left his home floor after recording two points and eight assists across 23 minutes, while Jenkins exited after pouring in 12 points and four assists as a starter for Detroit.

The third-quarter outburst between Trae Young and Daniss Jenkins served as the boiling point for a contest already defined by multiple scuffles, physical posturing, and chippy interactions across both rosters.

Earlier in the contest, with Washington holding a 49-40 lead, tensions flared near the baseline where limbs flew and it was confusing to figure who initiated it. It looked like Wizards’ Kyshawn George and Pistons’ Paul Reed fought for position and George didn’t take kindly to Reed’s arm in his face.

Suddenly, Anthony Davis intervened and separated the two, but that only escalated the skirmish. AD physically held the Pistons player back, and more teammates came in, turning this into a big multi-player dust-up that somehow included Ausar Thompson, too.

The confrontation intensified into a multi-player scuffle near the sideline. Coaching staff and arena security personnel were forced to surge onto the floor to separate the players as officials handed out technical fouls to restore order. It’s unclear what verdicts the referees issued after this skirmish, but fans are still reeling from the fact that it happened in a preseason game.

The hostile interactions reflect a budding regional rivalry between a revamped Washington squad, now featuring the star tandem of Young and Davis, with No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, and a physical, defensive-minded Pistons roster with big extensions for Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren.

While preseason games typically serve as tune-ups for conditioning and rotation experiments, the fiery exchanges between Young, Jenkins, Davis, and Reed demonstrated that both Eastern Conference franchises are operating at regular-season intensity well ahead of opening night.