Jordan Clarkson and Ron Holland II got tossed out of the Jazz-Pistons game after putting their fists up during a heated scuffle.
In the third quarter of Thursday’s game in Detroit, Pistons big man Paul Reed secured a bucket in the paint to put his team within 12 points, 81-93.
As he turned around, he bumped into Clarkson who then refused to get out of his way after the play. Reed extended his forearm to the Jazz star to get past him and Colin Sexton.
But as Reed got clear of Clarkson and went back on defense, Holland – who had been guarding him – stepped in front of the Philippines international and began chirping with his counterpart.
From there, they both squared up to each other before teammates quickly separated them.
Coaching staff from both sides also stepped onto the court to avoid escalation. Still, both Clarkson and Holland were ejected after the incident.
Jordan Clarkson and Ron Holland Jr. were ejected after squaring up to each other on Thursday
The Utah Jazz went on to beat the Detroit Pistons, 126-119, on the road to move to 6-20
Clarkson left the game with three points and a single field goal in 14 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Holland exited with four points in 13 minutes.
Following the ejection, Clarkson was trolled on social media for holding the ‘NBA record for square-ups.’
A user posted a 24-second montage of the guard squaring up to different players throughout his NBA career. Clarkson took a boxing stance against Goran Dragic in 2017, Jonathan Kuminga in 2022, and Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2023.
Nonetheless, the Jazz won the game, 126-119, with Sexton’s 30-point evening leading the charge. Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen contributed 28 and 27 points, respectively.
On the other hand, Pistons star Cade Cunningham had a game-high 33 points in Detroit’s losing effort.
Both teams have struggled this season, as Utah is 6-20 and Detroit sits 11-17 after Thursday’s showdown.
