Pistons' Isaiah Stewart suspended one game and fined for flagrant foul, ejection at Pacers
Stewart received a Flagrant-2, which an automatic ejection, in a loss to the Pacers. Then, the league hit him with a one-game suspension and a $50k fine.
Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart, whose nickname is ‘Beef Stew’ treated the Pacers like he had beef with them. Again.
And now he may have beef with the league.
Stewart, the 16th overall pick in 2020, is paying an additional price for his actions in the Pistons’ 133-119 blowout loss in Indiana last Wednesday. His appearance in the game lasted less than eight minutes and he was ejected before halftime.
With 8:45 left in the second quarter, Stewart received a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected for shoving Pacers backup center Thomas Bryant. He leveled Bryant with a forearm to the chest. The foul was upgraded after a review by the officials.
Crew chief Tyler Ford announced on the microphone: “After review, there was wind up, impact, and followthrough. The play is non-basketball. It’s unnecessary and excessive.”
Then on his way out, Stewart made the gesture of shooting an air gun toward the Pacers’ bench — unclear if it was at a specific player — and flipped off fans in the stands as he made the walk down the south tunnel back to the locker room.
(Click here for video passed along to me by a fan in the stands)
Two days later, Stewart was fined $50,000 by the NBA “for making inappropriate and objectionable gestures following the ejection.
More than that, he is also suspended one game for accruing his sixth Flagrant Foul point this season. That'll cost him even more than $50,000, so it was expensive beef for Stewart, who once attended La Lumiere Prep School in Indiana.
Talk about bad timing too. Friday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks is scheduled to be Isaiah Stewart bobblehead night. Whoops.
The Pacers, meanwhile, improved to 26-20 with the win behind big nights from Pascal Siakam 37 points) and Tyrese Haliburton (30).