Pistons Pissed, Hornets Stung, Beef Stew Beefs, Too

Not so long ago, a contest against the Charlotte Hornets was not likely to meaningfully raise the heart rate of anyone on the opposing side. Maybe the sight of LaMelo Ball's unpleasant red tattoos would cause a moment's perturbation, but nothing acute, nothing to flush the face or crease the forehead. The basketball would be easy enough: For the most part you could wait around for the Hornets to defeat themselves. Not lately! Charlotte entered Monday night's home tilt against the Detroit Pistons having won nine straight and 12 of 15, and with a couple of eye-popping demolitions scattered in there. These are not the Hornets of yesteryear: These guys—healthy for what seems like the first time in 1,000 years—are athletic, feisty, and organized. They demand attention.

The Pistons treat everybody rudely. They might be the NBA's roughest bunch, and some of the league's also-rans seem to shrink from their snarling physicality. The Hornets did not. In the third quarter, with the Pistons leading by eight points, things were getting angsty. Following a Jalen Duren offensive foul, Ball threw some moves at Detroit's Duncan Robinson and drove to the lane, but lost his dribble and then was annoyed into a three-second penalty by the digging and swiping of Robinson and Duren. Ball complained and the crowd booed. On Detroit's next possession, Cade Cunningham tried to feed Duren in the paint but Moussa Diabate bumped Duren and batted the ball away, and the Pistons settled for a lousy Tobias Harris mid-ranger, which missed. The ball squirted out of bounds and Detroit kept possession. Duren and Diabate, both pretty fired up, chirped back and forth, and the Hornets broadcast chose a good time to talk about Detroit's bullying style.

On the inbound, Duren threw a mean forearm into Diabate's chest, then popped to the wing to gather the ball. Duren then attempted to drive at and through Diabate. Diabate, who looks very skinny next to Duren but I guess is pretty sturdy, stoned Duren at the edge of the paint. Duren lurched into an off-balance jumper and Diabate committed a dumb foul, grabbing onto his man's shoulder and tugging him down. The two squared up, with Duren's face crashing into Diabate's and then Diabate pushing his forehead into Duren's. This is when all hell broke loose.