A wild fight broke out during Sunday’s Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game, turning a tight contest into a full-on melee at Target Center. Five players and two coaches were ejected, with Isaiah Stewart once again in the thick of it, reigniting his reputation as the Pistons’ enforcer. Here’s how a simmering feud boiled over—and flipped the game on its head.
A Few Plays That Lit the Fuse
The chaos kicked off in the second quarter, but the tension started earlier. With nine minutes left, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo taunted Stewart after the Pistons center missed a floater, yelling “F— no” as the ball rimmed out. On the next play, DiVincenzo hit the deck after a foul, and Stewart loomed over him, earning a technical from ref Tony Brothers for trying to intimidate. Minnesota’s Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert stepped in to calm things down, but Stewart stayed heated—setting the stage for what came next.
All Hell Breaks Loose
Two possessions later, with the Pistons up 39-30 at the 8:36 mark, rookie Ron Holland fouled Reid hard near the baseline, slapping the ball out of his hands. Reid fired back with words, and DiVincenzo jumped in, grabbing Holland’s jersey. That’s when the powder keg blew—Stewart charged into the fray, joining Holland and Marcus Sasser as all 10 players on the court tangled. The scrum spilled into the stands, with Stewart allegedly putting Reid in a chokehold as coaches J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) and Pablo Prigioni (Wolves) traded screams across the sidelines. Seven ejections later—Stewart, Holland, Sasser, Reid, DiVincenzo, Bickerstaff, and Prigioni—the game was forever altered.
Timberwolves Seize Control
The Pistons led by 16 early, but the brawl shifted momentum. Minnesota rallied behind Julius Randle (26 points) and Anthony Edwards (25 points), storming to a 123-104 win. Stewart’s night ended with zero points, four rebounds, and a block in just seven minutes—his third ejection this season after run-ins with the Bucks and Pacers. “Things went too far,” Bickerstaff said post-game, defending his team’s loyalty. “Guys were protecting each other—that’s non-negotiable for us.”
Stewart’s Bad-Boy Legacy Grows
This wasn’t Stewart’s first rodeo—his 2021 clash with LeBron James and a 2024 pregame punch on Drew Eubanks still echo in NBA lore. Social media lit up, with fans joking he “saw a brawl brewing and said ‘hold my beer.’” At 15 technicals this year, he’s one away from a suspension, cementing Detroit’s throwback “Bad Boy” vibe. But with the Pistons shorthanded—Cade Cunningham (calf) and Tobias Harris (Achilles) already out—this loss stings as they cling to playoff hopes.