Pistons center/forward Isaiah Stewart may be in some hot water.
Stewart punched the Suns’ Drew Eubanks in the face in the back tunnels of Footprint Center ahead of Wednesday’s game against Phoenix, The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported.
Eubanks confirmed that the incident had happened and that Stewart had sucker-punched him as he was making his way into the building, according to Arizona Sports.
Eubanks was seen warming up on the court after the altercation and said that he was good to play, calling Stewart’s punch “soft.”
The cause of the altercation isn’t known, but The Athletic reported that the two players had been going “chest-to-chest” before the punch.
Stewart hit Eubanks’ lip area and police had to get involved in the altercation to separate the two.
The NBA is expected to receive and review footage of the incident.
Stewart had been ruled out of Wednesday’s game before this incident with Eubanks and had been dealing with an ankle injury for the past seven games, all of which he missed.
He has spent the past four seasons with the Pistons and has played in 35 games this season.
Stewart has averaged 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
He’s shot 47 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from 3-point range.
The altercation wouldn’t be the first time Stewart has found himself potentially in the crosshairs of the NBA.
In 2021, Stewart was involved in an ugly incident when he attempted to charge LeBron James and other Lakers players after he was bloodied as he fought for a rebound.
The Piston player had to be restrained by teammates and security.
But the Suns and Pistons don’t have much of a rivalry or any bad blood.
They do have a connection, though, as Pistons coach Monty Williams was previously a head coach in Phoenix.
