Four ejected after massive brawl between Pistons, Hornets

Things got chippy in Charlotte. Then they got real chippy.

A third-quarter fight broke out Monday night between the Pistons and Hornets, resulting in four ejections during what eventually became a 110-104 Detroit win on the road.

Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges were tossed, along with Pistons big men Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.

It started with just over 7 minutes left in the third. Duren was driving to the rim and got fouled hard by Diabate.

Words were exchanged. Faces got close. Then Duren slapped Diabate across the face with an open hand.

That lit the fuse.

As teammates tried to separate the two, Diabate threw a punch. Duren walked away — or at least tried to — before Bridges came charging in and fired a left. Duren responded. Diabate tried to re-engage and had to be restrained again.

That’s when Stewart entered the picture.

Stewart left the bench area to confront Bridges, who responded with another punch. A brief scrum followed before officials and teammates finally restored order.

Detroit was leading 70-62 at the time.

After a lengthy review, all four players were ejected. The game took a while to settle back into basketball mode.

The Pistons eventually did just that, regrouping and closing out the win.

Not pretty. Not calm.

But a road win, nonetheless.