The Detroit Pistons head coach spoke after their impressive win over postseason hopefuls Toronto Raptors.

After beating Toronto on the road Wednesday, Detroit sits at 40-13 — the franchise's second-best record at the All-Star break.

The Detroit Pistons were able to squeak out a road win against the Charlotte Hornets in a game that was marred by a brawl as multiple suspensions may be handed down.

During their game on Monday, members of the Hornets and Detroit Pistons broke out into a fight on the court. The scuffle ended with the ejection of Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges for the

"The narrative that’s out there that we react to everything, every time, is disappointing," Bickerstaff said. "The narrative that these guys are not doing things as basketball players, and are out there roughhousing, is disrespectful to those guys. Both of our big guys are elite basketball players with high basketball IQ and skill sets."

With Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart out in Toronto, Paul Reed stepped up. They have withstood injuries, ejections and suspensions.

Cade Cunningham finished with 28 points as the Detroit Pistons shrugged off the suspensions of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart to cruise past the Toronto Raptors 113-95 on Wednesday. But the absence of the two Pistons centers had little effect on Detroit as they coasted to a wire-to-wire victory in Toronto.