The Detroit Pistons are hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for a nationally televised game today, for a marquee matchup between two top-four Eastern Conference contenders. Unfortunately, an odd incident caused a nearly 15-minute delay when the arena buzzer started ringing and wouldn’t shut off, leading to chaos at Little Caesars Arena.

“There was a complete malfunction here, electrical-wise, here at the scorer’s table,” sideline reporter Jorge Sedano explained on the ESPN broadcast. “You see this gentleman here working frantically to try to get everything reset. The clocks went out, the score went out across the building, and clearly, you hear the horn still going off. And there’s a level of frustration, obviously, here at the moment, trying to figure that out.”

According to Sedano, who spoke with opposing head coaches JB Bickerstaff and Kenny Atkinson, none of them had ever experienced something like this before. The delay lasted about 12 and a half minutes.

The incident occurred with about 7:24 left in the third quarter, and was long enough that both teams returned to the benches, got in warmups, and then came back onto the floor to warm up before the game could resume. To get rid of the horn, the equipment staff had to turn off the the entire overhead scoreboard display, but soon after the game continued, the display was turned on.

After the buzzer turned off, Pistons PA announcer John Mason explained that the horn malfunction was due to a power surge. Going forward, the staff is using a manual airhorn for the rest of the night. Hopefully, the teams haven’t been taken out of rhythm, especially because this was shaping up to be a particularly close matchup.

Cavaliers Battle Injuries While Pistons Ride Late-Season Momentum

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered tonight’s game with both uncertainty and excitement, following a surge to the East’s top tier after trading for James Harden at the trade deadline. However, their momentum has been dulled by injury concerns; it was discovered that Harden has suffered a nondisplaced fracture in his right thumb, forcing him to miss his second game in a row.

The Cavs are also missing star Donovan Mitchell and defensive stopper Keon Ellis, and will rely heavily upon the big duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, with head coach Kenny Atkinson likely expanding the role of veteran backup Dennis Schroder, who has repeatedly been described as a starting caliber guard by the coach.

Meanwhile, the Pistons are riding strong momentum into tonight. Led by the All-Star duo of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, the Pistons have won six of their last seven, including a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder where Cunningham and Duren both logging double-doubles while combining for 58 points.

With Detroit gaining confidence as the #1 seed in the East and the Cavs dealing with injuries to their guard duo, this meeting could serve as an early teaser for a potential playoff matchup.