CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Detroit Pistons All-Star Jalen Duren and former Michigan Wolverines player Moussa Diabate sparked an old-school basketball brawl during the back-and-forth contest, leading to a Pistons 110-104 victory.
Recommended Videos
Following the hard foul, Duren didn’t take the foul lightly and walked up to Diabate, who head-butted each other before Duren mushed the former Wolverines big man in the face, setting off the massive brawl.
BENCHES CLEAR IN PISTONS-HORNETS 😲
— ESPN (@espn) February 10, 2026
Moussa Diabate, Miles Bridges, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart were all ejected following the altercation during Pistons-Hornets. pic.twitter.com/VeNSi6vEBR
Diabate charged Duren before taking a swing at him, as the first-time All-Star backpeddled away, while former Michigan State Spartans high flyer Miles Bridges jumped in to defend his teammate.
The former Wolverines big man was being held up by Tobias Harris before breaking away and charging toward Duren, who balled up his fists and squared up before being tackled into the crowd.
While both sides were being de-escalated, Bridges started pointing his finger in Duren’s direction and broke away from staffers to charge Duren before Isaiah Stewart came flying in from off the bench to take a few swings at Bridges before both fights got ultimately separated.
While not a repeat of the 1980s Bad Boys or the infamous Malice at the Palace, Monday, Feb. 9, saw some mayhem on the court at Spectrum Center as the Pistons faced the hottest team in the NBA.
All four players involved—Duren, Diabate, Bridges, and Stewart—were ejected from the game.
The NBA will review the incident from every angle to determine whether further punishment is warranted.
Players who throw punches could face multi-game suspensions, and monetary fines are common, especially for players who leave the bench area during altercations.
In addition to the player ejections, Charlotte’s head coach, Charles Lee, was also ejected for arguing a call during the heated game.
Detroit went on to end the nine-game winning streak, to advance to 39-13 on the season.
Fellow All-Star Cade Cunningham iced the game by knocking down two free throws with 10.8 seconds left to take a 110-104 lead.
Charlotte went on to throw up a last-second heave by LaMelo Ball, which hit off the back iron.
With Duren and Stewart ejected with a quarter and a half to play, Paul Reed came in and played a huge role in securing the victory.
“I understand that this was a pretty important game against a team that we might see in the playoffs,” said Reed. At the end of the day, being on the bench all game, I just wanted to make sure that my guys know they can trust me out there on the court while coming in and making plays to help us win.”
Reed talked about coming in and getting blocks and rebounds against the Hornets.
“I take a lot of pride in that. I got a versatile game. I can do a lot of things on the court, so I just try to display that every time I come on the court,” Reed said.
Describing the brawl, Reed talked about the love the team has for each other and how they have each other’s backs.
“It’s through the roof,” Reed said. “I’m pretty sure that everybody on the team would help JD out there, even the guys on the bench, and we got each other back 100,000%. We got to go out here and play games and win, so we all can’t just crash out. Some of us got to stay poised, stay in the moment, and understand what’s at stake. Let’s get another dub in Toronto.”
Reed finished the game with 12 points off the bench in the victory, while Cunningham finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the victory.