The NBA issued penalties for the altercation between players that day Orlando Magic And Detroit Pistons Wednesday night. A total of 11 players were suspended — two Pistons players and nine players from Orlando, The The league was announced Thursday night.
Pistons guard Gillian Hayes was hit with heavy punishment — a three-game suspension without pay, Orlando center Mo Wagner was suspended for two games without pay and Hamido Diallo was suspended for one game without pay. Additionally, eight Magic players were suspended for one game for leaving the bench area during the altercation. Those players are Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, Franz Wagner, Admiral Schofield, Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba. The suspensions for those eight Orlando players will span the team’s next two games.
The incident occurred before halftime of the game between Detroit and Orlando. With 30 seconds left, Hayes and Wagner were chasing a loose ball in the backfield. As the ball was poised for a layup, Wagner shoved Hayes back, pushing the Pistons’ guard to the bench. Diallo steps in and shoves Wagner in the back, then Hayes gets up and punches Wagner in the back of the head.
A huge scrum ensued involving players and coaches from both teams as well as referees and security personnel. Fortunately, the incident didn’t get completely out of hand, even though players from the Magic bench ran the length of the floor to get involved.
You can watch the events below:
Wagner, Hayes and Diallo were fired for their roles in the situation. At the time, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey was upset that the Magic didn’t get more players off the bench.
“My understanding of the rule is that when you come off the bench you’re escalating — the words that are being said, things that are being said by their players and coaches are not deescalating the situation,” Casey said. “The official said he didn’t hear that. Well, I understand that. But I have to go back and get an explanation so they don’t eject anybody. I understand when you come off the bench and come in. Fight like that, that’s how bad things start, really bad things start. It could have been worse. I don’t feel like they’re making things worse.”
