Jaylen Brown on Pistons-Hornets fight: 'We need more of that on the C's'

The Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets game Monday night was marred by an extended fight that involved Jalen Duren, Moussa Diabaté, Miles Bridges, and Isaiah Stewart, all of whom got ejected.

The fight started with some jostling and pushing between Duren and Diabaté, and it escalated when Diabaté fouled Duren on a drive. The two went face-to-face, and it erupted when Duren shoved Diabaté in the face. From there, Bridges got involved, and Steward rushed him off the bench.

There will undoubtedly be several fines and suspensions coming out of this, especially for Stewart who came off the bench to join the fight.

When something like this happens, news of it spreads quickly. Jaylen Brown happened to be in the middle of a Twitch live stream when it happened, so he pulled up the video to react.

When Duren and Diabaté went forehead to forehead, which was followed by the shove to the face, Brown said “headbutt … oh then he mushed him! That was disrespectful,” Brown said. “If a dude takes his hand and mushed you in your face like that. I ain’t gonna lie, somebody gotta die.”

It’s an obvious exaggeration from Brown, who was relaying that a shove to the face, or a mush, is so disrespectful that restraint is no longer possible. Which is exactly what we saw in the video. That was the trigger that sent Diabaté into a rage.

When it was all over, Brown said he appreciated the old-school fire the players showed.

“This is good for ratings. People want to see a little every now and then,” he said. “Obviously this can’t happen a lot … but I’m sure a little bit of this ain’t too crazy. It’s exciting. It’s what people want to watch. I like it.”

Later, he added, “We need a little bit more of that … we need a little bit more of that on the C’s.”

It’s clear he’s not talking about starting fights. Taking the entire context of his reaction into account, he was praising the Hornets for not backing down in the face of aggression from a very physical team that stands alone at the top of the East.

Brown comes from a fighting lineage. He speaks glowingly about his grandfather’s boxing history and how he used to spar with greats like Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and Joe Frazier. Brown has become a martial arts practitioner himself, incorporating Muay Thai into his training. So hearing him react this way isn't much of a surprise.

The Celtics haven't been the most physical team in the league. Brown aggressively charges into the paint, and others, like Payton Pritchard, do well initiating contact and playing off it, but it’s fair to say most people would put the Celtics in the “finesse” box. It’s not that they can’t be physical, but it’s not their reputation.

So Brown saying, “We need a little more of that on the C’s” is a challenge for his teammates to find a little bit more of an edge that's mostly been missing since Marcus Smart was traded.

It’s a bit of an old school take, but one old school NBA and Celtics fans can appreciate. Some of the fondest memories from classic Celtics-Pistons rivalries involved plays like Robert Parish hammering Bill Laimbeer ...

... or Johnny Most screaming on the radio about the “yellow, gutless way they do things” in Detroit after a series of hard fouls on the Celtics.

There's a line between playing with an edge and looking for a fight, but playing with that edge might blur it sometimes. Brown clearly wants to see the Celtics take the metaphorical fight to teams without it erupting into an actual one.

Here’s the full reaction video for context. Warning, it contains NSFW language:

Jaylen Brown reaction to Pistons and Hornets brawl with Moussa Diabate Miles Bridges Jalen Duren & Isaiah Stewart 👊

“If a dude takes his hand and mush your face like that.. I ain’t gon lie, somebody gotta 💀” 😂🤣

FCHWPO TWITCH pic.twitter.com/xLHR9PnkdW
— CELTICS ☘️ BANNER 19 (@BiggLynch) February 10, 2026