Hours before the game on Wednesday, Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart was arrested by Phoenix police for assault following an altercation in which he punched Phoenix Suns center Drew Eubanks. Stewart was listed as out for the game, while Eubanks played 18 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing eight rebounds.
The altercation began outside of the arena. Once the two entered the arena and came chest to chest, Stewart punched Eubanks before security separated the two. Eubanks suffered a minor injury, but he said he was fine.
“It’s unfortunate what happened before the game, it’s supposed to be a brotherhood. But I also understand dudes get into stuff. We try to avoid that in this league, hopefully, we can move on from it,” Kevin Durant told the media after the game. “We all support Drew.”
The Phoenix Suns released a statement briefly after the altercation, coming to the defense of their player.
“The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable,” The Suns said in this press release. “We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons did not assume that Stewart was not provoked and will await the NBA investigation.
“We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities,” the team stated.
This, of course, is not Stewart’s first altercation with an NBA player. In 2021 when elbowed by Lebron James, Stewart had to be restrained from charging at the future hall of famer in a time of rage.
