The NBA has issued penalties for the altercation that took place between the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons players on Wednesday night. A total of 11 players have been suspended – two Pistons players and nine Orlando players, the announced league Thursday night.
Pistons guard Killian Hayes was hit with the most severe sentence – a three-game suspension without pay, while Orlando center Moe Wagner was suspended for two games without pay and Hamidou Diallo was suspended for one game. without pay. Additionally, eight Magic players were suspended for one game for coming off the bench during the altercation. These players are Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, Franz Wagner, Admiral Schofield, Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba. The suspensions for these eight Orlando players will be spread over the team’s next two games.
The incident happened just before halftime of the game between Detroit and Orlando. With just over 30 seconds remaining, Hayes and Wagner were chasing a stray ball into the backcourt. As the ball was about to go out of play, Wagner pushed Hayes in the back, sending the Pistons guard falling to the bench. Diallo ran and shoved Wagner in the back, then Hayes popped up and hit Wagner in the back of the head.
A massive melee ensued involving players and coaches from both teams, as well as referees and security personnel. Luckily, the incident didn’t spiral completely out of control despite Magic’s bench players running the length of the floor to get involved.
You can see the events unfold below:
Wagner, Hayes and Diallo were all sent off for their role in the situation. At the time, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey was upset that Magic didn’t have more players kicked out for coming off the bench.
“My understanding of the rule is that when you come off the bench and you get worse – words are said, things are said by their players and coaches that don’t defuse the situation,” Casey said. “The official, to his credit, said he didn’t hear it. OK, I understand that. But for them not to have anyone kicked out, I have to go back and get an explanation. My understanding is that when you come off the bench and get into a fight like that, that’s how bad things start, really bad things start. It could have been worse. I didn’t feel like they despaired of the situation.
