![A fight broke out during the Dec. 28 NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic that gave everyone a flashback to the 2004 'Malice at the Palace.' [Twitter/Screenshot/Public — User: @BallySportsFL]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-29-9-e1672323984608.jpg "A fight broke out during the Dec. 28 NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic that gave everyone a flashback to the 2004 'Malice at the Palace.' [Twitter/Screenshot/Public — User: @BallySportsFL]")
For a moment, it looked like Malice at the Palace 2.0 might erupt.
After getting a little too aggressive and pushing Detroit Pistons‘ Killian Hayes onto his team’s bench, Orlando Magic‘s Moritz Wagner appeared to get knocked out after Hayes punched him in the back of the head during the second quarter of the Magic-Pistons game on Dec. 28. The fight led to three ejections, and evoked memories of the infamous “Malice at the Palace” in 2004.
Wagner was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul. Hayes was ejected for his punch while Detroit Pistons‘ Hamidou Diallo was also ejected for shoving Wagner from behind with his elbow.
Things got heated between the Magic and Pistons 😳 pic.twitter.com/5IiZBoBZYx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2022
Tempers flare in Detroit after an altercation between Moe Wagner and Killian Hayes.@OrlandoMagic | #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/ig6lYrdju8
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) December 29, 2022
It looks to me like Moritz Wagner was going for the loose ball and wanted to block Hayes from getting it, but probably got a little too aggressive with that push. I just don’t get the vibe that he was intentionally trying to start a fight, because as someone who has played sports before, I understand the heated intensity that sometimes accompanies a situation like that.
I could be wrong, but regardless, I think it was completely unnecessary for Killian Hayes to land that punch. There was no need for that, you literally almost sparked up the second edition of this:
And I love how the Pistons franchise dealt with this entire thing. You can tell they learned their lesson after the Malice at the Palace, immediately telling fans, “everyone do not move, stay in your seats, do not move.” (RELATED: NFL Completely Annihilates NBA In Christmas TV Ratings)
You can hear it the whole time throughout the clips, and they immediately started doing it as soon as the fight broke out.
Now that’s preparation.
Crazy, crazy stuff, man.