MINNESOTA, United States, March 31, 2025 – Five players and two coaches were ejected following a brawl during the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 123-104 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
The highly charged contest in Minneapolis broke into a physical altercation early in the second quarter, when Minnesota’s Naz Reid reacted to being bumped by Detroit’s Ron Holland during a dribble.
As the two players squared up to one another, members of both teams got involved and the exchange quickly descended into a melee which spilled into the spectator seats at courtside.
Team officials attempted to break up the players, as some spectators deserted their seats.
Even after the fight was broken up, tensions remained high as players from both teams continued verbal attacks on one another.
Officials decided to remove five players – Isaiah Stewart, Holland and Marcus Sasser from Detroit and Reid and Donte DiVincenzo from Minnesota – as well as Detroit head coach John-Blair Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.
Bickerstaff accused Prigioni of triggering the incident that saw them both ejected by insulting his players.
“There were things said by their assistant coach,” Bickerstaff said.
“I’m in the same boat as my guys are in. We’re going to defend each other and I’m not going to let people say belligerent things about my guys.
“And it’s that simple. So he said what he said. He knows what he said.”
Minnesota head coach Chris Finch later suggested Detroit’s physical approach early in the game had triggered the flashpoint.
“I thought leading up to that, the game was way too physical,” said Finch.
“It was a little lopsided in its physicality and I thought it was bound to happen. It just felt like it was coming.
“We knew they were a super physical team. They hit you, they hold you… but I just thought it got to a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands, and you don’t ever want that.”
