Sunday night’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Detroit Pistons at Target Center in Minnesota was marred by a wild brawl in the second quarter that resulted in the ejection of multiple players and coaches from the contest.
It all started just over minutes into the second quarter with the Pistons leading by nine points. Minnesota big man Naz Reid tried to attack the basket but Pistons forward Ronald Holland II stripped the ball away from Reid’s hands.
Although a foul was called on Holland, that did not stop Reid from going over to Holland in an aggressive manner. Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo appeared like he was trying to pacify the situation but ended up being part of what would turn out to be a brawl that spilled over into the front row near the baseline after he got shoved by Holland.
When the dust settled, five players were thrown out of the game. They were Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser and Holland of the Pistons and Reid and DiVincenzo of the Timberwolves. Also ejected were Detroit head coach JB Bickerstaff and Minnesota assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.
“Two guys went at it and spilled over into the crowd, which was super dangerous,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said after the game about the fight (h/t Omari Sankofa II of Detroit Free Press). “Obviously it just kept escalating and escalating, mostly from their side, to be honest with you. I thought leading up to that, that the game was way too physical.”
Minnesota Timberwolves get the last laugh vs. Pistons
When everything was said and done on the court, the Timberwolves got the 123-104 victory over Detroit. It was Minnesota’s second win in a row and third in its last four outings.
Julius Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring with 26 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists while Anthony Edwards provided 25 points, six boards and four dimes. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert took care of business in the frontcourt, as he finished with 19 points and 25 rebounds to go with a block.
It was also an important victory for Minnesota, which is on the outside looking in of the top-six in the Western Conference standings. The Timberwolves are currently seventh in the West with a 43-32 record — just half a game behind the sixth-place Golden State Warriors.
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