Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart arrested for punching opponent before game

Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, who was arrested for assault for punching Phoenix Suns center Drew Eubanks at the Footprint Center hours before the teams played on Feb. 14, has been handed a three-game suspension from the NBA, per ESPN.

Phoenix police said Stewart was issued a citation and released, but according to a filing in the Phoenix Municipal Court, an assault charge against Stewart has been dismissed, per ESPN.

The altercation happened as Eubanks was entering the Phoenix arena on Feb. 14. He said an argument started and he and Stewart were chest-to-chest before Stewart threw the punch. Security intervened and Eubanks, though he sustained a minor injury, was fine for the game. He had six points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes in the Suns’ 116-100 victory. Stewart was already listed as out for the game because of a sprained left ankle.

“The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable,” the Suns said in a statement last week. “We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”

Pistons coach Monty Williams, fired by Phoenix after last season, said he thought the Suns should not have weighed in with their statement.

“The thing is to get all of the information. The NBA will do an investigation,” Williams said. “For me to come here and make a statement would be a bit irresponsible. I know the Suns said it was unprovoked; I think that is irresponsible for sure. You really don’t know.”

That NBA investigation has resulted in a three-game suspension for Stewart. In 2021, he was involved in an on-court altercation with the Lakers’ LeBron James that resulted in Stewart being suspended for two games and James for one.

“Keep the game first. There’s a lot of noise,” Suns star Kevin Durant said last week. “It’s unfortunate what happened before the game. It’s supposed to be a brotherhood. But I also understand, dudes get into stuff. We try to avoid that in this league. Hopefully, we can move on from it. We all support Drew.”

The Pistons are scheduled to resume their season Thursday against the Indiana Pacers. The Suns play at Dallas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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