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 y.
