Pistons’ Paul Reed becomes voice of reason after wild scene vs. Hornets

Things certainly got out of hand during the third quarter of the Detroit Pistons’ heated battle against the streaking Charlotte Hornets. With around seven minutes left in the period, Moussa Diabate and Jalen Duren got into an altercation, with the former looking to throw hands with the Pistons big man. Miles Bridges then escalated matters, as he himself threw a punch towards Duren. This did not fly with Isaiah Stewart, who came off the bench to give Bridges a receipt of his own.

All four of those aforementioned players were ejected following the brawl, and in the end, the Pistons put a halt on the Hornets’ nine-game win streak, 110-104. With Duren and Stewart receiving an early send-off to the locker room, Detroit had to rely on third-string center Paul Reed to finish the game.

Reed, in 18 minutes of play, put up 12 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one block, helping the Pistons earn a hard-fought victory. After the game, he acknowledged how necessary it was for every Piston to have Duren’s back. But not everyone has the leeway to lose their cool, and Detroit, to their credit, held steady after the brawl.

“I’m pretty sure that everybody wanted to help [Duren] out, even guys on the bench. We got each other back 100,000%. We gotta play basketball, gotta win games, so we all can’t just crash out,” Reed said in his postgame interview.

"I'm pretty sure that everybody wanted to help [Jalen]… even guys on the bench. We got each other back 100,000%. We gotta play basketball, gotta win games, we all can't just crash out."

Paul Reed on tonight's fight between Pistons and Hornets players.pic.twitter.com/gIUrIdc76T

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 10, 2026

Pistons show poise after brawl with Hornets sees their main centers get ejected

An all-out brawl like the one the Pistons and Hornets were in the middle of on Monday can certainly change the course of the game. At the time of the brawl, the Pistons were leading by eight.

With the Hornets getting the Pistons’ two main centers ejected, that could have paved the way for a comeback victory. Instead, Detroit showed the poise of a winning team and held on for the win.

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