Charles Lee put his foot down in a huge way Wednesday night.

In a very winnable game against one of the teams considered a contender in the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets coach benched Naz Reid for the entire second half. The Hornets fell to the Detroit Pistons 97-89 at Little Caesars Arena, halting Charlotte’s mini two-game win streak.

Lee made it clear the move to sit Reid was non-negotiable.

“Unfortunately, Naz didn’t meet our standards in the first half,” Lee said, “and at halftime we made the decision that he wasn’t going to play in the second half. We look forward to him meeting our standards next game.”

The decision is something Lee felt was necessary and the latest signal he’s trying to build a certain culture with the Hornets. Benching a veteran player and someone who was labeled as the franchise’s major offseason acquisition five games into the season is a major resolution from Lee.

Especially when the Hornets nearly led by double-digits at halftime and Brandon Miller was cooking again on the way to tossing in 31 points two nights after netting a career-best 39 in their win over Washington. But Lee apparently wasn’t on board with Reid’s actions — or choice words in this particular case — and made the swift move to leave Reid out of the rotation, keeping his stat line at seven points on 2-of-6 shooting and six rebounds in 12 minutes.

Lee took a stand, one that from all indications just had to be done because he couldn’t let Reid slide for what he did. But don’t expect any ill lingering feelings, though.

Reid and Lee ensured they cleared the air with each other after the game and are moving past the incident, essentially flushing it before the Hornets (3-2) meet the Wizards on Friday for the second time in five days.