By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Wednesday night’s contest between the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons turned ugly just before halftime as Moe Wagner, Killian Hayes, and Hamidou Diallo were all ejected for their roles during an altercation near the Pistons‘ bench.
With just over 30 seconds remaining in the first half, Hayes and Wagner were chasing a loose ball in the backcourt. As the ball was about to roll out of play, Wagner shoved Hayes in the back, sending the Pistons’ guard tumbling into the bench. Diallo raced in and shoved Wagner in the back, then Hayes popped up and punched Wagner in the back of the head.
KILLIAN KNOCKED MO WAGNER OUT OMG pic.twitter.com/7TcfL5MSbJ
— َ (@BolWrld) December 29, 2022
Wagner immediately collapsed into the Pistons’ bench and appeared to be knocked out by the punch. Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said during his postgame press conference that Wagner was “fine.”
“We’ll have to go back and look at the film to see exactly what happened,” Mosley said. “I was just concerned about my guys that were down on the [Pistons’] bench, down there, making sure they got away from that side. … Moe Wagner was still on the bench underneath everyone. Markelle [Fultz] was in there trying to help Moe Wagner out, so it was my responsibility to get our players away from the problem. It was not me trying to be restrained, I was trying to make sure our players were taken care of.”
Tempers flare in Detroit after an altercation between Moe Wagner and Killian Hayes.@OrlandoMagic | #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/ig6lYrdju8
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) December 29, 2022
A massive scrum ensued involving players and coaches from both teams, as well as referees and security personnel. Thankfully, the incident did not get completely out of hand despite the fact that players from the Magic bench ran the full length of the floor to get involved.