Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

CHARLOTTE – Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond was ejected during Tuesday's 112-89 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

At the 4:09 mark of the second quarter, Drummond delivered an elbow to the back of Hornets center Roy Hibbert’s head while the two big men were jostling for rebounding position on a Kemba Walker three-pointer.

On replays, Hibbert appeared to flail to draw attention to the shot.

After the officials reviewed the replay, a disbelieving Drummond was ejected after three points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in 13 minutes.

"Look man, I don't make the rules," Drummond said. "I just play the game. They felt like I did something maliciously. Everybody who knows me, knows that the way I play, that's not the type of player that I am, but at the end of the day, it wasn't my call. I just took the consequences and walked off the floor."

There’s history between Drummond and Hibbert.

While Hibbert was with the Indiana Pacers, he took issue with Drummond after a game in 2013.

“To tell you the truth I was a fan of his until tonight,” Hibbert said. “He is a real good prospect, but it seemed like he was running his mouth a little bit tonight. … He is going to have a bright future — but I was a fan of his.”

The Pistons led the Hornets, 57-54, at halftime. Jon Leuer replaced Drummond in the Pistons lineup to start the second half.

Drummond deflected when asked if the history played a role in his ejection.

"Anybody that knows me, knows I'm not a dirty player," Drummond said. "It's part of the game. He got hit, he did whatever he had to do to get the call. Refs made the call and I was escorted off the floor. Other than that, we won the game and I'm satisfied with that."

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.