Isaiah Stewart will have plenty of time to ponder whether he truly got his money’s worth during Monday’s shocking Pistons-Hornets brawl.
The Pistons center received the sternest penalty for the wild brouhaha, getting a seven-game ban while three others received multi-game bans, the league announced Wednesday.
The NBA stated his punishment stemmed from leaving the bench area, “aggressively” entering an on-court altercation and fighting.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate each got hit with four-game suspensions for fighting and escalation, while Stewart’s teammate, Jalen Duren, will sit for two games for initiating and participating.
These suspensions will leave the Pistons without two of their top players for next Thursday’s road game against the Knicks in a potential Eastern Conference finals preview.
“The length of Stewart’s suspension is based on part on his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts,” the league’s statement, attributed to executive vice president/head of basketball operations James Jones.
The shocking scene unfolded in the third quarter Monday night following a hard foul from Diabate on Duren, which led to the two going head-to-head before Duren put his hand in Diabate’s face.
That ignited the scene, with players from both teams coming over.
Bridges shoved Duren away at that point, while Diabate swung at Duren but missed.
Despite others’ attempts to corral him, Diabate escaped and made a beeline for Duren
Bridges further escalated the situation by re-approaching Duren and punching him, and that’s when Stewart came running off the bench in pursuit of Bridges.
He fought his way through bodies to grapple with Bridges.
All four players received technicals fouls and ejections.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defended his team’s actions.
“Our guys deal with a lot, but they’re not the ones that initiated. They’re not the ones that crossed the line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear, through frustration, because of what J.D. was doing, that they crossed the line. I hate that it got as ugly as it got. That’s not something that you ever want to see, but if a guy throws a punch at you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself.”
Stewart’s checkered history involves multiple suspensions, including last April when he received a two-game ban for a fight during a game against the Timberwolves.
He’s slated to miss a tough stretch that features Wednesday’s road game against the Raptors followed by road tilts against the Knicks and Bulls, home games against the Spurs, Thunder and Cavaliers and then a home matchup against the Magic.
Detroit (39-13) leads the Celtics by 5 1/2 games for the best record in the Eastern Conference, while the Hornets (25-29) are one game ahead of the Bulls for the final Play-In Tournament spot.
Their upcoming slate includes Wednesday’s home game vs. the Hawks, followed by two home clashes with the Rockets and Cavaliers before visiting the Wizards.