Detroit Pistons backup center Isaiah Stewart was ejected from Wednesday night's NBA game in Indiana for knocking Pacers backup center Thomas Bryant to the floor.
It happened with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter as the Pacers held a 50-36 lead. With the Pacers on offense, small forward Aaron Nesmith took a pullup jump shot. As Bryant positioned himself for an offensive rebound near the edge of the key, Stewart threw his elbow into Bryant's chest, knocking him to the floor. The officials blew the whistle for the foul immediately because the play was so egregious.
Isaiah Stewart was ejected from Pistons-Pacers after shoving Thomas Bryant. pic.twitter.com/y28vkYjaPL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 30, 2025
Bryant was helped up, but he was angry, and understandably so. He would have went after Stewart had he not been held back by Nesmith.
After a replay review, the officials upgraded the foul to a flagrant two, and Stewart was tossed from the game. Stewart finished with 1 point in 8 minutes of game action.
Not sure why Stewart felt the need to deck Bryant, but it was clearly unnecessary. This is not the most vicious elbow we have seen in basketball, but it was pretty bad.
Bryant stayed in the game, finishing with 9 points as the Pacers beat the Pistons 133-119.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
