Detroit — Things got out of hand in the third quarter of the Pistons’ marque matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Pistons center Isaiah Stewart suffered a bloody gash over his right eye after taking an elbow from LeBron James, which set off a wild scene with 9:18 left in the third quarter. Stewart approached James and the two had to be separated, but the situation escalated when Stewart with more blood gushing from his face — repeatedly pursued James and had to be restrained.
Chaos ensued as players from both teams, along with security, tried to maintain control. Stewart looked to be calm, but again rushed toward James and he had to be handled by team personnel, security and other players. The incident lasted over a minute.
James was ejected.
After a replay was shown on the video board, the crowd at the arena rained a chorus of boos at James, but the situation remained under control as fans were instructed to stay in their seats and not throw any objects.
The scene was reminiscent of the “Malice at the Palace” incident Nov. 19, 2004, but in this instance, everything was handled well, and police and arena security kept everything calm.
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rod.beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard