Five players and two coaches were ejected after a fight broke out in the second quarter in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
Detroit lost head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser. Minnesota forward Naz Reid and guard Dante DiVincenzo also were tossed, along with assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.
The skirmish began with 8:36 left in the half with the Pistons up 39-30. Stewart had received a technical foul just moments earlier when he bumped DiVincenzo hard after the whistle. Then Holland was called for a foul as he slapped the ball out of Reid’s hands near the baseline.
The two exchanged words, DiVincenzo stepped between them and grabbed Holland’s jersey, and soon all 10 players on the court and multiple coaches and trainers were part of the scrum.
As the players were being separated, Bickerstaff and Prigioni were screaming at each other and had to be separated by team personnel.
The whole scene played out just 20 feet from new Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, who walked over from his courtside seat in the aftermath and appeared to call for assistance for a fan who got caught in the middle of the melee.
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