Spectrum Center was filled with chants of “Lose” and boos when the third quarter between the Hornets and Pistons took a wild turn. An in-game foul turned into a fight between two players. And instead of stopping that, their teammates jumped in. It was so bad that one of the most level-headed Hornets players had to be escorted out before the referees dishes punishments. It caused a lengthy stoppage in the game with the Pistons up 70-62 at that time.

The fight broke when the ball was in Detroit Pistons’ most aggressive star, Jalen Duren’s possession. The Charlotte Hornets player, Moussa Diabate was guarding him when Duren knocked his shoulder in the 24-year-old’s face and the other big responded with a hard foul.

The Frenchman and the Pistons center immediately got confrontational. That argument turned into an instant physical fight. Diabate’s teammate, Miles Bridges jumped in while the nearest Pistons players tried to stop Duren.

The entire bench-clearing brawl escalated with Diabate and Duren literally shaking off their coaches to chase each other and throw fists. Their teammates joined the fray too but not to de-escalate. Isaiah Stewart was leading the charge for the Pistons which didn’t help.

It was so bad that the announcers said they’ve never seen Diabate lose his cool ever. And one of the best guys in the security business on the Spectrum Center payroll, physically dragged Moussa to the locker room so he’d not make it worse. The referees finally reviewed the fight and ejected Diabate, Duren, Miles Bridges, and Isaiah Stewart from the game.

The biggest casualty of this fight could be the guy in the secondary fight here. Isaiah Stewart has racked up multiple fouls recently. This could add up to a more severe punishment in comparison to what Duren or the Hornets players could face.

Hornets and Pistons are looking at bigger punishments

Isaiah Stewart had been on the bench when the fight broke out. Once the security team had corralled Diabate and taken him away, Miles Bridges had jumped into the fight. Birdges and Duren threw punches but apparently neither landed. So at least they avoided injuries.

That made Stewart get off the bench, not to break it up but to throw fists. He had Bridges in a headlock, clearly an extreme escalation. Spectrum’s entire security team descended to break up the fight and referees reviewed the footage and awarded fighting fouls which are automatic ejections. So far, only ejections have been made.

Apparently the tensions didn’t stop there. Later into the fourth quarter, Hornets’ assistant coach, Charles Lee argued a call and that led to him getting ejected too!

All the ejected players are facing a strong likelihood of fines and suspensions. But the consequences could be worse.

Jalen Duren has to sit out the Slam Dunk contest because of a sore knee and a fight could’ve made it worse. Miles Bridges too has barely returned from an ankle injury and no one wants to see him aggravate it.

We’d have to wait and see what the consequences of this game are. But it looks like the Pistons are leaving Spectrum Center with a win and looking like the villains in Charlotte’s eyes.