Court date set for Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart in Phoenix for punching Suns’ Drew Eubanks

After he “sucker-punched” Suns center Drew Eubanks and was arrested on Feb. 14, Phoenix Municipal Court has set a Feb. 23 court date for Pistons forward/center Isaiah Stewart on a misdemeanor assault charge, first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Stewart was arrested and issued a citation after the altercation which occurred before a Suns win that Stewart had already been ruled out of with an ankle injury.

“Basically we were walking in, words were said and we got face-to-face, and then (Stewart) just sucker-punched me,” Eubanks said in the locker room pregame.

Security intervened and although Eubanks said he was fine for the game, police said he sustained a minor injury.

“The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable,” the Suns said in a statement. “We unequivocally support Drew and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”

Pistons coach Monty Williams, fired by Phoenix after last season, said he thought the Suns should not have weighed in with their statement.

“The thing is to get all of the information. The NBA will do an investigation,” Williams said. “For me to come here and make a statement would be a bit irresponsible. I know the Suns said it was unprovoked; I think that is irresponsible for sure. You really don’t know.

“That did not need to happen. There is a time for the information to be gathered and then you can make a statement.”

“Keep the game first. There’s a lot of noise,” Suns star Kevin Durant said after the game. “It’s unfortunate what happened before the game, it’s supposed to be a brotherhood.

“But I also understand, dudes get into stuff. We try to avoid that in this league, hopefully we can move on from it. We all support Drew.”

Eubanks finished with six points, six rebounds, two steals and one block in 18 minutes as the Suns beat the Pistons.

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