The Pistons-Pacers rivalry continues to simmer. Things got heated again in Detroit's 133-119 loss in Indianapolis Wednesday night, with the two teams combining for six technical fouls and Isaiah Stewart getting ejected for a flagrant-2 in the second quarter after knocking Pacers center Thomas Bryant to the paint.
Stewart pointed a finger gun at the Pacers' sideline and then flaunted the "DETROIT" across his chest to the fans as he was ushered off the floor.
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who picked up a technical himself in the fourth quarter, accused the Pacers of saying things that went well beyond the spirit of competition.
"There’s things that happen on the basketball court that you have to deal with. Then there’s certain things that are said to you that are no longer about basketball. And when it crosses that line like it did tonight, you should be able to stand up for yourself," Bickerstaff said. "I’ll let you guys do whatever fishing you want to do, but there were 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."
Bickerstaff also sounded upset with how the game was officiated, as four of the technicals went against the Pistons. Detroit was called for three more fouls overall, and Indiana shot five more free throws.
"Our guys care, obviously, and they compete at a high level," Bickerstaff said. "There’s no opponent that we’re going to shy away from. We’re going to be who we are. We’re going to earn the respect of this league, whoever it is. Everybody is going to respect the Pistons and the way that we compete. That’s what we’re scratching and clawing for, and we understand that.
"Nobody in this league gives you anything. You have to establish a reputation, and then you gain things from that reputation. We're in the process of gaining our reputation, and teams know who we are. When they show up, they know what they’re going to get. Now we need everybody to understand who we are when we show up, so our guys can get what they deserve."
Bickerstaff's technical came for comments he made to one of the officials midway through the fourth quarter after Cade Cunningham was called for a shooting foul when the Pistons had cut the deficit to six. Bickerstaff said afterward that "it's my responsibility to defend our guys when we feel like things aren’t balance."
"And I will never — never — stop doing that. Again, our guys will earn the respect of this league. But it’s my responsibility to defend them," he said. "Whatever’s happening out on the floor, whether it’s opponents, referees, it doesn’t matter to me. My job is that, and I will always do that. It rubs some people the wrong way, but it doesn’t bother me because I know what my job is and what we need and what this team needs. As we’re going through this process of earning respect, we have to defend them and stand up for them no matter what’s happening on the floor."
On the whole, Bickerstaff liked how his team responded to "one of those games that we knew was going to be competitive, physical, chippy."
"I think there were moments that we lost our cool a little bit and it impacted the way we played, but I think for us, giving up 133 points, defensively we could have been better. I think that’s what this came down to," he said. "I thought our guys handled the moment well to score 120 points, but we just made some mistakes defensively and they made you pay."
The Pistons have lost three straight to the Cavaliers, Magic and Pacers -- three teams ahead of them in the East -- after a 12-4 run thrust them up in the standings. They're eighth in the East at 23-24 on the year.