Cade Cunningham poured in 33 points as the Detroit Pistons snapped the Charlotte Hornets’ nine-game winning streak with a fiery 110-104 victory on Monday, a game overshadowed by a mass brawl that led to four ejections.

The ill-tempered clash between Eastern Conference leaders Detroit and the in-form Hornets boiled over midway through the third quarter after Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate committed a hard foul on Pistons center Jalen Duren. The pair went forehead-to-forehead before Duren shoved Diabate away, triggering a chaotic melee.

Players from both teams flooded the court as punches were thrown and scuffles erupted. After several minutes of review and delay, officials ejected Duren and Detroit teammate Isaiah Stewart, along with Charlotte’s Diabate and Miles Bridges.

Stewart sprinted off the bench to join the fracas, attempting to strike Bridges, who had thrown a punch at Duren as tempers flared.

The drama did not end there. Early in the fourth quarter, Hornets head coach Charles Lee was also ejected after angrily protesting a foul call against his team, needing to be restrained by members of the Charlotte coaching staff before being escorted from the court.

Despite the loss and controversy, Lee praised his players’ performance afterward.

“That was a freaking great game for us,” Lee said. “They’re the number one team in the East and they bring a level of physicality and competitiveness. I thought our guys responded to every run and all of the physicality.”

Reflecting on the incident that sparked the brawl, Lee added: “Two guys got in a heated conversation and then it kind of spiraled from there.”

On his own dismissal, he conceded: “I’ve got to have a little bit better emotional control in that moment.”

Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, however, placed the blame firmly on Charlotte, insisting his players had been provoked.

“Our guys deal with a lot, right? But they’re not the ones who initiated it — they crossed the line,” Bickerstaff said. “I hate that it got as ugly as it did. You never want to see that. But if a guy throws a punch at you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself, and that’s what happened tonight.

“Go back and watch the film. They initiated crossing the line and our guy had to defend himself.”

The win lifted Detroit to an NBA-best 39-13 record at the top of the Eastern Conference, extending their lead over the New York Knicks (34-19). Charlotte remain 10th in the standings at 25-29.

Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic cruised past the Milwaukee Bucks 118-99, the Utah Jazz edged the Miami Heat 115-111, and the Brooklyn Nets pulled off an upset by beating the Chicago Bulls 123-115 to improve to 15-37.