Miles Bridges battled Monday night, but it had nothing to do with his career as a rapper. The Charlotte forward and aspiring Hip-Hop artist got ejected from the Hornets’ 110-104 loss to Detroit after a massive brawl at Spectrum Center.
The fight started when Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate fouled Detroit’s Jalen Duren with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Duren turned around and faced Diabate. The two appeared to butt heads. Duren pushed Diabate in the face with his open right hand. That’s when everything went crazy.
Diabate threw a punch at Duren while Pistons forward Tobias Harris held him back. Duren walked away, but Bridges charged at him from midcourt. Bridges threw a left-handed punch at Duren.
Duren retaliated with his own punch. Diabate tried to charge again, but his teammates held him back. Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart left the bench to confront Bridges. Bridges responded with another punch and the players tussled.
Stewart got Bridges in a headlock and delivered multiple left-handed blows to his head.
Police briefly entered the court during the chaos. The whole confrontation lasted more than 30 seconds.
All four players – Bridges, Diabate, Duren and Stewart – got ejected for fighting. Hornets coach Charles Lee also got tossed in the fourth quarter after arguing with officials.
“It looked like two guys got into a heated conversation and it just kind of spiraled from there,” Lee said after the game.
Duren called it an “overly competitive game” and said emotions were flaring. He claimed opposing teams have been trying to “get in our head” all season.
“This isn’t the first time that people have tried to be like extra aggressive with us and talk to us,” Duren said. “But as a group we have done an OK job of handling that energy and intensity.”
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defended his players afterward. He said Detroit didn’t initiate the fight.
“Our guys deal with a lot but they’re not the ones that initiated, they’re not the ones who crossed the line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear through frustration because of what J.D. was doing that they crossed the line.”
Bridges posted on Instagram late Monday night: “Sorry Hornets nation! Sorry Hornets Organization! Always gonna protect my teammates forever.”
The loss ended Charlotte’s nine-game winning streak. The Hornets were trying to make history with their 10th straight win, but fell short. Detroit won 110-104 despite the drama.
The Pistons improved their record while Charlotte’s streak came to an end in the wildest way possible.
The NBA will likely review the incident and could hand out suspensions to the players involved. Bridges raps under the name RTB MB and has been making moves in Hip-Hop.
The Flint, Michigan, native has dropped tracks with aggressive delivery, and his Detroit-style rap sound has earned praise.
Loading ... 