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The NBA suspended five players on Tuesday for their roles in a fight during Sunday’s game between the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart was suspended for two games, while forward Ron Holland Jr. and guard Marcus Sasser were each suspended for one. Minnesota center Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo were also suspended for one game each.
Stewart was given an extra game “based in part on his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts,” the league said in announcing the discipline.
The scuffle began after Holland fouled Reid on a drive to the basket with 8 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the second quarter after tensions were already high.
After the whistle, Holland appeared to say something to Reid, who turned around and started waving his finger at Holland. That sparked even more of a verbal back-and-forth between the two.
DiVincenzo stepped into the fray and grabbed Holland. The two tangled and fell into the front row of seats on the baseline under the Wolves’ basket as coaches from both benches and security personnel leaped into action.
Pistons guard Marcus Sasser tried to come to Holland’s aid, as did resident enforcer Stewart, while coaches and security surrounded the fracas.
DiVincenzo was pinned with his back against the seats with Reid and Holland both at his feet. When Stewart tried to grab Reid on the ground, appearing to put him in a choke hold, DiVincenzo threw his shoulder into the pile in front of him, trying to clear the way.
Even after the players were separated and order was starting to be restored, Reid, Holland, Stewart and DiVincenzo continued to bark at each other. The verbal sparring extended to the coaching staffs as Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Wolves assistant Pablo Prigioni hurled invectives at each other.
DiVincenzo and Reid were ejected, as were Holland, Stewart and Sasser. Bickerstaff and Prigioni were also ejected.
The referees handed out seven technical fouls during the incident.
Minnesota won the game 123-104.
Timberwolves reaction
The Timberwolves were hoping that DiVincenzo and Reid would avoid a suspension, but they also were bracing for it. As soon as the skirmish spilled into the seats and put fans in harm’s way, there was likely to be discipline from the league.
The absences come at a very difficult time for the Wolves (40-32), which started the day a half-game behind the Golden State Warriors for the coveted sixth seed in the Western Conference, which would allow them to avoid the Play-In Tournament. They have a showdown with the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, a team they have beaten five straight times. Missing their two best bench players will make it much more difficult to win, and the Wolves are operating with almost no margin for error over these final seven games.
Despite being put in a difficult position, Wolves players were fully supportive of the way DiVincenzo and Reid responded to the Pistons on Sunday. They were getting dominated physically and fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first quarter, but DiVincenzo ramped up the aggression when he entered the game and sparked his team back into it.
Naz Reid has been promoted to head guard at Clark county jail!
— Jaylen (@jayl7en) March 31, 2025
Donte divincenzo has also been promoted to prison warden at Clark county jail! Thank you for reading the updates🤝🏽❤️
— Jaylen (@jayl7en) March 31, 2025
Had DiVincenzo not responded the way he did, the Wolves might have lost the game and been even further in the hole. DiVincenzo’s fiery personality has ingratiated him in the locker room this season after he came over from New York in the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks.
With Reid and DiVincenzo out, Terrence Shannon would normally be in line to take some of the wing minutes, but he is out with a groin injury. Jaylen Clark will likely see more minutes, and Luka Garza could get some time in the frontcourt against Nikola Jokić. — Timberwolves senior writer Jon Krawczynski
(Photo: Matt Krohn / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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