Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defends Isaiah Stewart’s ejection after he drilled Thomas Bryant in loss to Pacers

Posted by author January 30, 2025 Sports

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Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart was ejected on Wednesday night after he took out Indiana Pacers big man Thomas Bryant with a hard forearm randomly in the first half.

Midway through the second quarter of the 133-119 loss in Indianapolis, Stewart looked like he was going to try and box Bryant out after a shot when he suddenly hit him hard out of nowhere in the chest and neck area. The shot sent the 6-foot-10 center crashing back down to the court as others worked to get the rebound.

Almost immediately, officials threw Stewart out of the game and he took off for the locker room. Bryant got up and briefly tried to go after Stewart, but he was held back before he could really get anywhere.

“I have to be better at not letting those words allow me to affect the team. I know my squad could have used me out there tonight.”

It’s unclear what kind of talk Stewart was referring to or what was said specifically. If anything was said, though, it had to have been earlier in the game. Stewart and Bryant weren’t close enough to be jawing right before Stewart drilled him.

Regardless, the apparent commentary was enough for Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to forcefully defend Stewart’s actions.

“There’s things that happen on the basketball court that you have to deal with. Then there are certain things that are said to you that are no longer about basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “When it crosses that line like it did tonight, you should be able to stand up for yourself. … There was things said tonight that absolutely crossed the line, past basketball to man-on-man stuff. And if someone says something like that to you that crosses the line, you should have every single right to do what you need to do to defend yourself.”

The Pacers led nearly the entire way on Wednesday night while grabbing the 14-point win. Pascal Siakam led the way with 37 points and six rebounds, and Tyrese Haliburton finished with 30 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Pacers have now won 10 of their last 12 and sit at 26-20 on the season.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 32 points and nine assists, and Tobias Harris finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Stewart had a point and an assist in eight minutes when he was ejected. The 23-year-old is averaging 5.5 points and six rebounds per game this season, his fifth with the Pistons.

While a clear shot like the one Stewart took will get a player ejected every time, it’s not often that you see a head coach defending those actions. But he’s not backing down, whether it’s with Stewart or bigger picture.

“It is absolutely my responsibility to defend our guys when we feel like things aren’t balanced, and I will never, never stop doing that,” Bickerstaff said. “Again, our guys will earn the respect of this league, but it’s my responsibility to defend them. Whatever is happening out on the floor, whether it’s opponents, whether it’s referees, it doesn’t matter to me. My job is that, and I will always do that.”