WATCH: Mo Wagner ejected following bench clearing fight during Pistons vs Magic game
Wednesday night’s game between the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons took an unexpected and wild turn, following a confrontation between Orlando’s Mo Wagner and Detroit’s Killian Hayes. Both players were scrambling for a loose ball near the Pistons bench near the end of the second quarter. The ball rolled out of bounds and that’s when things go wild. Wagner decided to give Hayes a hard shove into the Detroit bench. A melee then ensued with multiple players from each team being involved.
Check it out.
Wagner then got pushed into the Pistons bench by Detroit’s Hamidou Diallo, and that’s when Hayes decided to take a mild punch at the back of Wagner’s head. All three players were eventually ejected for their involvement in the melee.
Both benches were cleared in the fight and the teams eventually had to be separated. Several players from Orlando left their bench area, which is likely to result in suspensions per league rules. Both coaches helped to de-escalate the situation from getting worse than it did. Following a lengthy review, Wagner, a former Michigan Wolverines’ star, was assessed a flagrant two foul, which resulted in an ejection. Hayes and Diallo were also ejected. Hayes will likely hear from league officials after connecting with the back of Wagner’s head with a closed fist.
The Pistons won the game 121-101. Before getting ejected, Mo Magner stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, four rebounds, and one assist.
Wagner is averaging 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this year. He’s posted a number of double-doubles this season, including on Dec. 7 against the LA Clippers, when he stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points and 13 rebounds. All of the players involved in Wednesday night’s melee will definitely be facing some sort of suspension from the league, no question about it.