It might have been cold outside in Minneapolis on Sunday but it was plenty heated inside the Target Center.
Five players and two coaches were ejected from the Minnesota Timberwolves-Detroit Pistons game after a scuffle broke out in the second quarter.
Head coach JB Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser were tossed out for Detroit while Minnesota forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo, and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were also lost for the game.
With the Pistons up 39-30 and about eight minutes to go before halftime, Holland fouled Reid while he was driving to the basket. Reid then pointed a finger at Holland which led to DiVincenzo getting between the two.
A skirmish started between the players which spilled all the way into the first row of the crowd behind the basket. Refs and security were able to calm down the situation and assess the penalties afterward.
The Timberwolves would go on to win 123-104.
After the game, Bickerstaff commended his team for sticking up for one another.
“Obviously, things went too far. … What you see if guys looking out for one another, guys trying to protect one another, trying have one another’s back and thats that,” Bickerstaff told reporters.
Bickerstaff, who is in his first year coaching Detroit, added the team is ‘frustrated after the incident and the loss.
“The game didn’t go how we hoped it would have gone. … You regret where all of it took place. That’s not something you ever want to see happen,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought our guys stood their ground, defended each other and had each others back. And those are non-negotiables in our locker room. … I thought our guys did that tonight.”
Minnesota head coach Chris Finch called the situation “dangerous” but placed the blame on the skirmish on the Pistons starting with the physicality of the game.
“Two guys went at it, and it spilled over into the crowd which is super dangerous, obviously just kept escalating and escalating, mostly from their side to be honest with you,” Finch said.
“… I thought it was bound to happen. It just felt like it was coming. You’ve just been in enough basketball games to kind of feel this coming. It’s unfortunate. We knew they were a super physical team. They hit you, they hold you. All these things that physical teams do. But I just thought it had got to a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands.”
While Bickerstaff said “there were things said” by Minnesota’s assistant coach, Finch questioned why Prigioni was ejected. However, he added the altercations sparked his team.
“It kind of was a pressure release for what the game needed or where the game was headed. Certainly don’t want to say needed that but that was like the only conclusion with the way the game was being played,” Finch said. “Didn’t matter how it was going to happen, it was just bound to happen.”
With the victory, Minnesota improved their record to 43-32 and sit in 7th place in a tightly-contested Western Conference.
The Timberwolves are next scheduled to play on Tuesday on the road against the Denver Nuggets while Detroit travel to Oklahoma City to face the NBA’s best Thunder on Wednesday.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
Topics in this Story
