Moe Wagner, Killian Hayes ejected after fight breaks out between Pistons and Magic
Killian Hayes, Moe Wagner and Hamidou Diallo were ejected on Wednesday night after a fight broke out in the second quarter of the Detroit Pistons' 121-101 win over the Orlando Magic at Little Caesars Arena.
Just before halftime, with the Pistons up 19, Wagner chased down a loose ball in the backcourt with Hayes when he knocked Hayes into the Pistons' bench.
Diallo quickly rushed in and pushed Wagner from behind while Hayes picked himself up. Hayes then ran in and punched Wagner in the back of the head, which sent the Magic falling hard straight down into the bench.
A pair of Pistons assistants appeared to cover Wagner up while others ran in to what became a large altercation in the corner of the court. It took coaches and officials quite some time to restore order. Wagner was eventually helped back to his feet and was walked off the court.
This scene at the Magic-Pistons game ????
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 29, 2022
Moe Wagner, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo were all ejected after this altercation.pic.twitter.com/gGiA6BWz3O
After a lengthy review, officials ejected Wagner, Hayes and Diallo. Wagner was hit with a flagrant-2 foul, which triggered the automatic ejection, and the two Pistons players were assessed technical fouls.
The league will review the incident and will likely hand down further punishment in the coming days. Several Magic players and assistants left the bench to get involved in the incident and head coach Jamahl Mosley was held back at one point. Mosley said he was just trying to get to Wagner.
"Moe Wagner was still on the bench underneath everyone," Mosley said, via Bally Sports. "With that being said, Markelle [Fultz] was in there obviously trying to help Moe Wagner out, so it was my responsibility to get our players away from the problem. It was not having to be restrained, I was trying to make sure our players were taken care of."
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey wasn't happy with how many people from the Magic bench came over into the incident.
"I was upset because, my understanding of the rule was the fact that when you leave your bench to get into an altercation, you're escalating," Casey said, via Bally Sports.
"My thing is, there were words being said, things being said by their players and coaches that were not deescalating the situation ... For them not to have anyone ejected [other than Moe Wagner], I have to go back and have an explanation ... That's how bad things start. It could've been worse. I don't feel like they were deescalating the situation."
Wagner finished with seven points and four rebounds in 13 minutes for the Magic. Hayes had five points and three assists in 16 minutes, and Diallo had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Pistons held a 64-47 lead at halftime. They led the entire rest of the way and put the Magic away with ease to claim the 20-point win.
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 19 points in the loss, and Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Alec Burks led Detroit with 32 points off the bench while shooting 6-of-7 from behind the arc. Saddiq Bey added 28 points and eight rebounds off the bench, too. The win snapped a six game losing skid for the Pistons.
