Something completely unexpected happened this Wednesday evening, just before the Pistons were set to play against the Suns at the Footprint Center in Arizona. Hours ahead of tipoff, Isaiah Stewart seemed to have punched rival Drew Eubanks and was arrested and finally released.
The Phoenix police were the first to report on the scene and revealed that they issued a citation against the Detroit center, who was already listed as out of the match due to a sprained left ankle. Eubanks, on the other hand, dropped 6 points and won 8 rebounds over 18 minutes of play in his squad’s 116-110 home victory.
The Suns big man was asked about the altercation before the start of the contest and he shared that it happened just as both teams were coming into the arena. He explained that an argument began and they were both face to face when Isaiah threw the punch.
Report: Drew Eubanks ‘barely flinched’ after Isaiah Stewart punched him in the face and stood there ‘stone cold’ https://t.co/Rn5VhmSPGw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 15, 2024
This is when security intervened and the police claimed that the Phoenix athlete had suffered a minor injury. “The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable,” the Arizona franchise said in a statement. “We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”
The Pistons also acknowledged the incident. “We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities,” the Michigan team said.
Monty Williams, the current Detroit coach who was fired by the Suns last season, believes that his former club shouldn’t have commented on the matter with a statement before letting the authorities understand what happened.
“The thing is to get all of the information. The NBA will do an investigation,” he claimed. “For me to come here and make a statement would be a bit irresponsible. I know the Suns said it was unprovoked; I think that is irresponsible for sure. You really don’t know.
“That did not need to happen. There is a time for the information to be gathered, and then you can make a statement.”
The Suns center revealed that he received a “soft” punch right before security stepped in to handle situation
Insider Duane Rankin had the opportunity to speak with Eubanks himself after the altercation, as the player shared details on the incident. “Just walking in and words were said and got sucker punched and security stepped in and that was it,” Drew said before adding it was a “soft” punch.
“I asked Drew Eubanks about incident with Isaiah Stewart. Said he was heading to the lockerroom inside arena when stopped by Stewart. Had words, and Eubanks said Stewart sucker punched him. Security intervened and he’s fine. Stewart is out tonight due to injury,” the Arizona reporter said.
“Keep the game first. There’s a lot of noise,” Phoenix super star Kevin Durant commented. “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. We all support Drew.”
Let’s remember that this is not the only aggressive situation that Stewart has been involved in, as he got in a heated exchange with LeBron James back in 2021 and suffered a two-game suspension for it.
