Before the season started, nobody had a February game between the Pistons and Hornets circled on their calendar as one of the most interesting games of the year. Sports can be funny, though, and as the top-seeded Pistons, who entered last night’s game on pace for 61 wins, traveled to Charlotte to meet a team that had come out of nowhere to reel off nine straight, that’s exactly what we got.
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This game had a playoff atmosphere in every sense. It was a close battle the whole way through, with Cade Cunningham’s 33 points ultimately being just enough to outlast three Hornets players who scored at least 20 each. The big story coming out of the game, though, was the brawl that took place in the third quarter and will undoubtedly result in several suspensions.
It all started when Moussa Diabate fouled Jalen Duren when the Pistons center drove to the basket in the third quarter. The two centers then got in each other’s faces and started shoving, triggering a brouhaha the likes of which isn’t often seen these days. Miles Bridges ended up throwing a punch at Duren, and then Isaiah Stewart came rushing off the bench to join the fray.
Stewart is no stranger to on-court brawls. Who can forget the time he went at LeBron James back in late 2021 after being bloodied by an elbow during a free-throw box-out? That was one of the wildest NBA scenes of the last decade as Stewart attempted to run over, through and around his own teammates, refs and anyone else in his path to LeBron.
Stewart’s rampage didn’t end there. He ultimately served a two-game suspension for the incident, which in hindsight seems laughably lenient. Then Gilbert Arenas put out one of the most hilarious tweets ever composed, which only enraged Stewart further.
Gilbert Arenas has a message for Pistons Isaiah Stewart. pic.twitter.com/he9VzLG9aB
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) November 22, 2021
A couple of years ago, Arenas recounted how Stewart stepped to him for his post when they both happened to be at an event held by Pistons legend Isiah Thomas. “I don’t like what you said,” Arenas remembers Stewart saying to him.
Never one to back down (Arenas was once suspended 50 games for pulling a gun on teammate Javaris Crittenton in the locker room), Agent Zero replied, “I don’t give a f*** what you talkin’ ’bout young fella, get your punk a** on in the game and get to playing before I whoop your a** up in here.”
Arenas thought tough thoughts when Stewart challenged him. “He must have thought I was Skip Bayless or Rachel Nichols or something, that he could pull on old G.A.,” he said. “Boy, are you crazy? I had to look that man up and down … You better ask about me, young fella. He better check my police record.”
In reality, Arenas’ bravado was only an interior monologue. He remembered thinking that Stewart was even bigger than he looked on TV, and that he brought “Deebo energy,” referencing the enormous Friday antagonist.
Instead of standing up to Beef Stew, in reality, he kept his eyes averted and tried to defuse the situation, because he knew if he didn’t, he was “gonna get a** whooped all down that Tacoma hallway.”
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Arenas is an incredible storyteller. This is just a reminder that no matter how tough someone believes they are, there’s always someone tougher out there.
Well, unless you’re Isaiah Stewart. He’ll be suspended for what happened last night, but he gave the Hornets and the rest of the league yet another reason to fear him.
