SI

Pistons-Timberwolves Fight Spills Into Front Row, Leads to Laundry List of Ejections

Complete chaos in Minnesota.

Blake Silverman

Timberwolves and Pistons get into a fight that spills into the crowd at Target Center
Timberwolves and Pistons get into a fight that spills into the crowd at Target Center / Screengrab via FanDuel Sports Network North
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The Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves only play twice each year, but there was plenty of bad blood between the two when they met at Target Center Sunday.

The young, scrappy Pistons have had their fair share of dust-ups over this season as they've leapt back into NBA prominence. The Wolves have their own enforcers and identity, too, which made the game bound for a boiling point.

That boiling point came when Wolves big man Naz Reid drove for a layup and took exception to a foul from Pistons rookie Ron Holland. Reid wagged his finger in Holland's face before Minnesota guard Donte DiVincenzo stepped in between and provided a subtle shove. Then, chaos ensued.

After a few shoves between DiVincenzo and Holland, DiVincenzo put his hands up toward Holland's head and neck, which led to DiVincenzo getting pushed into the broadcast crews and fans sitting court side by a bevy of Pistons. From there, coaches and players ran in to try and break up the madness.

And here's an angle from the crowd with some NSFW language:

Although it's difficult to tell from the crowded scene, Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser and Simone Fontecchio were in the middle of the mix from the Detroit side. For Minnesota, it was Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and certainly DiVincenzo, who was at the bottom of the pile. Holland ended up on the floor tangled up with Reid, too.

Even the coaches had words for each other as they walked back to their respective sides, which led to a laundry list of ejections. Here's each person ejected as a result of the chaos:

Person

Team

Role

J.B. Bickerstaff

Detroit Pistons

Head coach

Ron Holland

Detroit Pistons

Player

Isaiah Stewart

Detroit Pistons

Player

Marcus Sasser

Detroit Pistons

Player

Pablo Prigioni

Minnesota Timberwolves

Assistant coach

Naz Reid

Minnesota Timberwolves

Player

Donte DiVincenzo

Minnesota Timberwolves

Player

With the ordeal spilling into the stands, suspensions are likely to follow for those at the center of the chaos after the league reviews the incident. For the Pistons and Timberwolves, tensions boiled for possessions leading up to the fight and some players will now likely pay a price.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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