The NBA has suspended Detroit Pistons forward-center Isaiah Stewart seven games for leaving the bench area and participating in a fight in Monday night’s brawl-marred game against the Charlotte Hornets.
The league also suspended Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate four games each for fighting and escalating the altercation which occurred midway through the third quarter. Pistons center Jalen Duren was also suspended two games for initiating the altercation and fighting, the league said in a statement.
All four players were assessed technical fouls and ejected from Monday’s game. Stewart and Duren will begin serving their suspensions Thursday when the Pistons visit the Toronto Raptors. Bridges and Diabaté will also begin serving their suspensions Thursday when the Hornets host the Atlanta Hawks.
The league attributed Stewart’s lengthy ban in part to his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.
A sources tells ESPN’s Shams Charania that Duren will still be able to participate in the NBA All-Star game, despite the suspension. He was named an Eastern Conference reserve last week.
The altercation began when Diabaté committed a defensive foul on Duren with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter. Duren turned and confronted Diabate, and the two appeared to butt heads. Duren then pushed Diabate in the face with his open right hand. Stewart then left the bench to confront Bridges, who responded with a punch, and the two players tussled. At one point, Stewart got Bridges in a headlock and delivered multiple blows to his head.
The confrontation lasted more than 30 seconds and ultimately ended with a brief police presence on the floor.
Duren later called it an «overly competitive game.»
«Emotions were flaring,» he said. «At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.»
Bridges took to Instagram late Monday night to say: «Sorry Hornets nation! Sorry Hornets Organization.! Always gonna protect my teammates forever.»
The suspensions will cost Stewart $724,138, Bridges $689,655, Duren $89,423, Diabate $62,641, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
