Some feared a second Malice at the Palace last night. Theater of the brawl between Pistons and Orlando Magic was always the Detroit arena, which has since become Little Caesars Arena. It all happened in the second quarter, when Moe Wagner gave a boost to Killian Hayes as the ball was coming out, causing him to run into his own bench.
Wagner first received a shove and immediately afterward even a punch in the back of the head from Hayes, giving the impression of fainting for a few moments. The long German fell unconscious into the arms of a Pistons player, and a paraphernalia ensued from there, fortunately without any other casualties.
It took the referees a few minutes to figure out what had happened on instant replay and impose the appropriate punishments. Wagner was ejected for a Flagrant 2 because of the shove on Hayes, who was in turn ejected as was teammate Hamidou Diallo, author of the first push on the Magic’s center. However, it is likely that the NBA will take further action in the coming hours with fines and suspensions.
Milan, Italy. A graduate in Labor Management and Communication for Organizations from Catholic University, I founded BasketUniverso in 2011. Yes, I root for Orlando Magic and do my best not to hide it.
