The NBA suspended 11 players after Wednesday night’s brawl in the Detroit Pistons’ 121-101 win over the Orlando Magic.
The league issued penalties Thursday night after the altercation at Little Caesars Arena. Pistons guard Killian Hayes received a three-game suspension and Magic forward Moe Wagner received a two-game suspension.
Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo received a one-game suspension for his role in the altercation, along with eight different Magic players who were all suspended for leaving the bench area once the incident began.
This group of players — Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, Admiral Schofield, Franz Wagner, Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. — will serve their suspensions in a staggered fashion so the Magic have enough players to compete.
The fight erupted just before halftime in Wednesday’s game in Detroit when Wagner and Hayes were chasing a stray ball into the backcourt. As they approached the Pistons bench, Wagner hit Hayes with a hip kick that knocked him to the ground. This prompted a quick response from Hayes, who leapt back and hit Wagner in the back of the head.
This blow sent Wagner falling hard on the Pistons bench and sparked a much larger altercation behind him.
Coaches and officials eventually separated the group, and Wagner and Hayes were expelled. Diallo was also sent off, as he shoved Wagner before the punch.
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey called out the group of Magic players and coaches who rushed into the swarm after the game, clearly unhappy with the escalation.
“I was upset because from my understanding of the rule, when you come off your bench to get into an altercation, you get escalated,” Casey said.
“My thing is that there were words that were said, things that were said by their players and coaches who didn’t despair of the situation… For them, nobody was sent off [other than Moe Wagner], I have to go back and have an explanation… That’s how things start badly. It could have been worse. I don’t feel like they defused the situation.”
The Pistons held a 17-point halftime lead and took the win by 20 points, which ended a six-game losing streak. Alec Burks dropped 32 points off the bench for Detroit, and Saddiq Bey added 28 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
