An NBA game turns into a brawl, leading to the ejection of five players and two coaches during the Pistons-Timberwolves clash.

MINNEAPOLIS April 1, 2025: A wild brawl led to five player ejections and two coach ejections during the Minnesota Timberwolves' game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

Detroit lost head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II, and guard Marcus Sasser. Minnesota's forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo were also ejected, along with assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.

“Obviously things went too far,” Bickerstaff said. “But what you see is guys looking out for one another, trying to protect each other, and having each other’s backs... Those are non-negotiables in our locker room.”

The altercation started with 8:36 left in the first half when the Pistons were up 39-30. Stewart had already received a technical foul for bumping DiVincenzo after the whistle, and then Holland was called for a foul after slapping the ball out of Reid’s hands near the baseline. The two exchanged words, DiVincenzo intervened and grabbed Holland’s jersey, and soon all 10 players, along with multiple coaches and trainers, were involved in the chaos.

As the players were separated, Bickerstaff and Prigioni had to be pulled apart by team staff.

The incident occurred just 20 feet from new Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, who walked over from his courtside seat to assist a young fan caught in the melee.

The game saw 12 technical fouls, the most in an NBA game since March 23, 2005, according to OptaSTATS.

“I thought leading up to that, the game was too physical,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “It’s unfortunate, but we knew they were a super physical team. They hit you, they hold you, all the stuff you want from a physical team. But I thought it reached a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands. You never want that.”

The Timberwolves came back from an early 16-point deficit to defeat the Pistons 123-104.