Why Wolves' Pablo Prigioni, Pistons' J.B. Bickerstaff were ejected after brawl

Wolves coach Chris Finch went more in depth after the game, explaining Prigioni was trying to have a conversation with one of the officials about a Pistons player whom the Wolves felt was "prone to these situations." Though he didn't reveal who, Finch was likely referring to Isaiah Stewart, who was ejected and was previously suspended in late January after accruing his sixth Flagrant Foul of the season. Ron Holland II and Marcus Sasser were the other Pistons players ejected.

Bickerstaff didn't appreciate Prigioni's comments and confronted him, and the two exchanged words. Finch didn't believe Prigioni's actions warranted an ejection, and Bickerstaff didn't believe they escalated and defended his actions postgame.

"There was things said by their assistant coach, and I'm in the same boat as my guys are in: We're going to defend each other," Bickerstaff said postgame. "I'm not going to let people say belligerent things about my guys, and it's that simple. So he said what he says, he knows what he said. And I didn't think it crossed the line to escalation of anything, but in that moment, I understand the refs' position. But you just can't say anything to people or about people and expect it to be OK."

Related: 'Bound to happen': Timberwolves react to brawl against Pistons

It was clear the Wolves were pretty surprised about Prigioni's ejection. Donte DiVincenzo, who was also ejected along with Naz Reid, was shown having a laugh about it as he exited. Nori had his quip at halftime. Prigioni, an Argentina native who's been an assistant with the Wolves since 2019, has never been the loudest on the court, even in his playing days.

Had Wolves players seen him get that angry before?

"When I blocked his shot a couple years ago when we played him," Rudy Gobert quipped. "But no, not really."

Prigioni had a long international career before coming the oldest rookie in NBA history at 35 in 2012. He played four NBA seasons with the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. The point guard was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection before making the leap to the NBA. Then he started coaching with Spanish club Baskonia in 2017.

"He was a tough player," Gobert said of Prigioni. "He was very — kind of a little bit of kind of like John Stockton-type. Very scrappy. Doesn't talk a lot, but just very tough, competing on every play, and very smart."

Prigioni showed some of that scrappiness Sunday night, and the whole situation appeared to fire up his team. After the brawl broke out in the second quarter, the Wolves rallied from a double-digit deficit for a 123-104 victory over the Pistons.

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