A game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Detroit Pistons was interrupted by a fight in the second quarter that led to ejections from both teams, including players and staff, on March 30. 

The game was operating smoothly until the second quarter with eight minutes and 36 seconds left before halftime.

The Pistons were up 39-30. These two teams are known as the most physical teams in the league, as incidents have occurred in the past, but the coaches didn’t expect issues during this game.

The fight began with the Timberwolves forward guard Naz Reid going to the basket attempting a dunk. When he missed, Reid and Pistons forward guard Ron Holland II started exchanging words. From there, Donte DiVincenzo got involved by shoving Holland II away. This led to Marcus Sasser getting involved and punches being thrown by players from both teams. 

At one point during the fight,DiVincenzo was laid out across the front row chairs while taking hits from other Pistons players. This fight between the Timberwolves and the Pistons was intense to the point where both coaching staffs had to get involved to break up the fight.

After the teams were separated, Reid, Holland, Isaiah Stewart and DiVincenzo were still bickering at one another, remaining heated even after the altercation. 

The referee announced that the Pistons would choose who was to make the free throws and technical free throw for the fight; after this, the game continued without the players and coaches that were ejected.

The brawl led to five players and two coaches being ejected. The Pistons lost their Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Holland II, center Stewart and Sasser.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Reid and guard DiVincenzo along with their Assistant Coach Pablo Prigioni were also ejected. In a post game interview, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, “I thought leading up to that the game was way too physical.” 

The outcome surprised Finch, despite predictions for an aggressive game. “It’s unfortunate, but we knew they were a super physical team,” Finch said. “They hit you, they hold you, all the stuff that you want your physical teams to do. But I just thought it got to a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands. You don’t ever want that.” 

This game broke the record of 20 years for the most technical fouls in an NBA game. After this chain of events the game continued normally with the Timberwolves taking the lead and the game resulted in the Timberwolves winning 123-104 after the brawl had taken place.