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In the North American professional basketball league NBA, the 101:121 defeat of the Orlando Magic against the Detroit Pistons was overshadowed by a pack formation.
The focus was on the German professional Moritz Wagner.
After Wagner and Detroit's Killian Hayes chased after a failed Magic pass 34 seconds before halftime, Wagner shoved his opponent into his own bench.
Pistons pro Hamidou Diallo then bumped Wagner hard from behind.
Wagner then became dazed and slowly fell to the ground after Hayes hit the back of the head.
The formation of the pack resulted in three game exclusions (ejections), including for the German.
For the Pistons, Hayes and Diallo had to leave the field.
"Then really bad things can happen"
"He's ok," said Moritz's brother Franz Wagner afterwards, who was the best thrower on his team with 19 points.
Starting the riots was "the last thing he wanted to do," he said.
Several Magic players are now facing bans for leaving the bench to help Moritz Wagner.
Franz Wagner was also there.
"I need an explanation for this decision because, as far as I know, you can't leave the bench area and escalate a situation," said Pistons coach Dwane Casey.
"Then really bad things can happen."
In 2004, there was a mass brawl at the Indiana Pacers game against the Detroit Pistons, some players even jumped into the stands and fought with spectators.
It went down in NBA history as »The Brawl«.
"We know the rule, but things like that usually happen on the field, not on one of the benches," said Franz Wagner: "You worry that your teammate is down there under the whole other team."
In terms of sport, the Pistons were dominated by Alec Burks with 32 and Saddiq Bey with 28 points.
After an interim winning streak, Orlando suffered the second setback in a row and now has a record of 13:23.
bka/dpa/sid