Isaiah Stewart found himself hitting the showers earlier than expected as part of a wild scene on Wednesday night.
The Pistons forward was ejected during his team’s 133-119 loss to the Pacers after he was assessed a flagrant-2 for shoving Indiana big man Thomas Bryant in the second quarter at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse.
To add to the spectacle, Stewart appeared to make a gun gesture in the direction of the Pacers bench and then gestured toward the crowd as he was walking off the court.
Bryant and Stewart appeared to have been chirping at one another earlier in the game.
Then in the second quarter, Stewart shoved Bryant to the floor while everyone around them was focused on going up for a rebound.
Referees immediately called the foul and sent Stewart to his bench before an irate Bryant could get up.
The Pacers players were livid and had to be held back by teammates and coaches.
The fans waved goodbye to Stewart as the ref announced the flagrant-2 call and Bryant seemed to gesture as well.
While the official was reviewing the play to decide whether to assess a flagrant-2, Stewart appeared to make the gun gesture in the direction of the Indiana bench before point that way.
Video of Stewart leaving the court also appears to show him making hand gestures to the crowd as he headed to the locker room.
Stewart’s early night saw him play just less than eight minutes and put up a point and assist.
The dustup is sure to add to the growing rivalry between the two team that began last year and has continued into this season.
In their previous matchup earlier this month, the two sides played a close game where the Pistons couldn’t complete a comeback despite pulling within seven.
That physical and chippy matchup also featured plenty of trash talk between the two sides, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“It wasn’t no malice or anything crazy like that,” Pacers center Myles Turner told reporters previously, according to the Indy Star. “It was just competitive talk. It’s a team that’s on the rise, a team that we’re gonna see in the future. It was just good-spirited stuff, man. I think that’s the beauty of this game. You go out there and compete and you talk a little bit and you go out and back it up too.”
