The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards got the kind of preseason test that can turn testy in a hurry at Capital One Arena, and this one did just that. What started as a competitive exhibition with both teams sitting at 1-0 quickly boiled over when Pistons big man Paul Reed and Wizards forward Kyshawn George got tangled up while fighting for the ball. Anthony Davis ended up drawn into the scuffle, and recent contract signee Ausar Thompson was part of the emotions on Detroit’s side as things escalated.
Preseason scuffle 😳
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 11, 2026
Ausar Thompson, Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George, and Paul Reed all got into it after this play. pic.twitter.com/mPQ8XcuESo
The clip from the fracas spread fast, drawing thousands of views by the night of Saturday, October 10. The reaction online matched the tone on the floor.
“It ain't that serious fellas relax,” one fan said response. Another chimed in, “If this was Amen (Thompson) this confrontation goes a lot less smoothly,” another added.
On the scoreboard, Washington carried a 56-50 lead into halftime, and the matchup had already settled into the kind of physical back-and-forth that made the incident feel less like a random flashpoint and more like a natural outgrowth of the game’s edge. Detroit got double-figure scoring from Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins, Kevin Huerter and Reed, while George, rookie first overall pick AJ Dybantsa, Davis and Tre Johnson paced the Wizards.
Dybantsa, the former BYU Cougar, finished with 14 points on 4-10 shooting and added six made free throws as the game moved into the final stretch of the fourth quarter.
Detroit has built a reputation for pulling opponents into these kinds of confrontations, and this preseason meeting fit that mold even without enforcer Isaiah Stewart, who is now with the Memphis Grizzlies. Reed’s battle for position with George never really let up, and that edge helped define a game between two teams that both appear to have bigger goals ahead for the 2026-27 NBA season.
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