The Detroit Pistons dropped Thursday's game against the woeful Utah Jazz, who entered with just five wins in 25 games, but it wasn't for a lack of energy ... eventually, at least.
The Pistons rallied from a 29-point deficit to get within five points in the final two minutes. And they did so without rookie Ron Holland, who was ejected from the game in the third quarter.
THE GAME: Detroit Pistons out of step after brutal 1Q, fall to lowly Utah Jazz, 126-119
With 1:37 remaining in the third quarter, Pistons big Paul Reed rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Malik Beasley and laid the ball in. As he turned to run back on defense, Utah guard Jordan Clarkson impeded his path and they collided.
They exchanged words as Reed jogged down the floor, and bumped chests a second time before Holland got involved. The rookie confronted Clarkson, getting between him and Reed. Holland and Clarkson briefly put their fists up as teammates surrounded them to defuse the fight.
Reed and Clarkson were each hit with a technical foul for the initial confrontation -- with neither shooting free throws -- and Clarkson and Holland were subsequently ejected for assuming fighting stances. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wasn't happy with the decision by the officials after the game.
IN THE BEGINNING: Detroit Pistons rookie Ron Holland trying to maximize opportunity in first NBA week
"It's ridiculous," he said. "The double-technical foul is ridiculous. If a guy hits your player first, the technical foul should be on the player who hit your guy. The double-technical foul is a cop out. He literally hit him with his body, what's a guy supposed to do? You get the guy who laid the first hit and you move on. You don't exacerbate it by giving somebody else a technical foul who had nothing to do with the play, was just standing up and got hit. So that's ridiculous."
It was Holland's first career ejection, and he may have earned brownie points with his teammates due to his fearlessness and willingness to protect.
"That's who Ron is," veteran guard Cade Cunningham said. "Ron is a super loyal dude, super tough-minded dude. I could've had my eyes closed and guessed who was going to be in the middle of it. That's just who he is. That's the mentality of this team. All we have is each other. We have to protect one another, have each other's backs."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons Ron Holland ejected vs. Utah Jazz; teammates back him