Pistons Coach Sounds Off on Isaiah Stewart’s Ejection vs Pacers

The Detroit Pistons only received eight minutes of action from their standout backup center, Isaiah Stewart, on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.
As Stewart landed a flagrant 2 foul call early on in the game, the veteran center was ejected.
Stewart left the game with just one point and one assist.
It certainly wasn’t Stewart’s first time leaving the game early due to an ejection. Considering the timing and the circumstances, Stewart’s early exit was definitely a major hit for the Pistons, who were seeking revenge against their division rival.
Isaiah Stewart was ejected from Pistons-Pacers after shoving Thomas Bryant. pic.twitter.com/y28vkYjaPL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 30, 2025
The rivalry has been living up to the expectations this season, as Detroit becomes more competitive. However, Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff made it clear that lines were crossed on Wednesday.
“There’s things that happened on the basketball court that you have to deal with,” Bickerstaff told reporters after the game.
“Then there are certain things that are said to you that are no longer about basketball. When it crosses that line like it did tonight, you should be able to stand up for yourself.”
“There were things said tonight that crossed the line.”
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) January 30, 2025
Bickerstaff speaks on Isaiah Stewart’s ejection and the high emotion of tonight's game vs. the Pacers. #Pistons pic.twitter.com/LbecgzwmkR
While Bickerstaff wouldn’t get into specifics about what was said, he showed no hesitation in having his players back, as Bickerstaff suggested that the Pacers took comments too far.
“There were things said tonight that absolutely crossed the line past basketball to man-on-man stuff, and if someone says something like that to you that crosses the line, you should have every single right to do what you need to do to defend yourself,” the head coach finished.
The Pacers won the season series against the Pistons on Wednesday night. While a late November matchup for an NBA Play-In group game went in favor of the Pistons, the Pacers have managed to fire off two victories in the month of January to close out the four-game series.
Wednesday’s matchup resulted in a 133-119 loss for the Pistons.
The Pistons are set to return to the court on Friday to host the Dallas Mavericks.
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