NBA Game Erupts Into a Near Riot

[Condit]

Jermaine o'neal haymaker'd that fatty, its their fault for coming onto the court, they obviously came to start some trouble. Did you see the kid with the beer in his hand, he was cheering and then his eyes bulged and he made a "oh shit" face when he saw artest come at him.

I blame ben wallace for creating such a ruckus. Nba players are payed to ball, not to get harassed with beer bottles, drinks, chairs and shit. props to the Pacers who held their own against those crazy fans.

[Nimrook]

HAHAHA ANYONE LOOKING AT THE LINEUP THEY HAVE TONIGHT VS MAGIC? hahahaha..

they got 6 players that can play.. LOL

and they are: Eddie Gill, Fred Jones, Austin Croshere, James Jones, David Harrison and John Edwards.

[Troll King]

If that was hockey, the media up here will be all over how it's a black mark for the sport, and there'd be a huge fuss over it that would eventually lead to the formation of a committee.

How is the media in the States viewing this incident?

[Ezor]

Dunno, TK, but as everyone knew would happen, Artest, O'Neal, Jackson and Wallace are all suspended indefinitely. Yada yada yada. As far as I'm concerned the fucking idiot fans had it coming, leaving the safety of their seat to try and be heroes or whatever.

[Subjugation]

Just as a follow up...

The league office has officially handed down suspensions and gave their official statement on the incident:

NBA suspends Artest for rest of season; eight players get shorter bans
By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
November 21, 2004

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday as the NBA came down hard on three members of the Indiana Pacers for fighting with fans when a melee broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Overall, nine players from the teams were banned for more than 140 games, including some of the harshest penalties the league ever issued. Artest is the first player to be suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game.

``The message the league sent was so powerful to players that they'll never do that again,'' Pistons CEO Tom Wilson said.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25. Detroit's Ben Wallace -- whose shove of Artest after a foul led to the 5-minute fracas -- drew a six-game ban, while Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games.

``I'm sick about that for Indiana. I'm devastated for them,'' Pistons coach Larry Brown said. ``And we lost our heart and soul.''

Four players were suspended for a game apiece: Indiana's Reggie Miller, and Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman.

All of the suspensions are without pay.

Artest, O'Neal and Jackson -- who all threw punches at fans in the stands or on the court at the end of the nationally televised Pacers-Pistons game Friday night -- began serving their suspensions Saturday. Indiana, limited to just six players because of the suspensions and injuries, dropped an 86-83 decision to Orlando.

``The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self-control that should fairly be expected from NBA players,'' NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement, adding that the league must not ``allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations.''

The NBA also has to ``redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds,'' Stern said.

He added that security procedures in all NBA arenas will be reviewed and rules need to be added to prevent a repeat of what happened at Auburn Hills, Mich., on Friday.

For Sunday night's home game against the Charlotte Bobcats -- Detroit's first outing since the melee -- the Pistons doubled the number of armed police to about 20 in the arena and increased other arena security personnel by about 25 percent.

When some spectators lined up to take pictures with Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter on the court before the game, two police officers stood just a few feet away.

The brawl was particularly violent, with Artest and Jackson bolting into the stands near center court and throwing punches at fans after debris was tossed at the players.

Later, fans who came onto the court were punched in the face by Artest and O'Neal.

Nine people were treated for injuries, and police are investigating possible criminal charges.

Wallace began the fracas by delivering a hard, two-handed shove to Artest after Wallace was fouled on a drive to the basket with 45.9 seconds remaining. After the fight ended, the referees called off the rest of the game.

The initial skirmish wasn't all that bad, with Artest retreating to the scorer's table and lying atop it after Wallace sent him reeling backward. But when a fan tossed a cup at Artest, he stormed into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Jackson joined Artest and threw punches at fans, who punched back. At one point, a chair was tossed into the fray.

The most recent example of an NBA player going into the stands and punching a fan came in February 1995, when Vernon Maxwell of the Houston Rockets pummeled a spectator in Portland. The league suspended him for 10 games and fined him $20,000.

Among the harshest non-drug-related penalties in NBA history was a one-year suspension of Latrell Sprewell -- later reduced to 68 games -- for choking Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice.

Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers drew a 60-day (26-game) suspension in 1977 for a punch that broke the jaw of the Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich during a game, while Dennis Rodman was suspended 11 games for kicking a courtside cameraman in the groin and six games for head-butting a referee.

Artest was benched for two games this month for asking Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a rap album.

Artest was suspended twice by the NBA last season, once for leaving the bench during a fracas at a Pacers-Celtics playoff game; the other for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson. During the 2002-03 season, Artest was suspended five times by the NBA and once by the Pacers for a total of 12 games.

Artest also once grabbed a television camera and smashed it to the ground after a loss to the Knicks two years ago.

Updated on Sunday, Nov 21, 2004 6:42 pm EST

[Troll King]

After reading that article, one thing drew my attention:

Indiana had a one man bench and Orlando only managed to win by three?

[Dameon Angell]

That's how bad the Orlando team is, lol.

[Condit]

wow david stern ruined the pacers this season

[Subjugation]

After reading that article, one thing drew my attention:

Indiana had a one man bench and Orlando only managed to win by three?

Yes, that was some pretty funny shit.

Basically, Indiana was one of the East's top...maybe 3 teams (before the suspensions), and Orlando will be happy to make it past the first round of the playoffs.

[Troll King]

Good news for my Raptors then. (Anyone else see their 4th quarter comeback from a 20 point deficit against the Spurs with Carter and Rose anchored to the bench?)

[Subjugation]

[Dim]

That's a funny video, what will happen to the NBA guy in football he'd be like banned for a year.

[Nickname]

that wasn't well-timed, that was a sucker punch. dude was on his knees just trying to stand up, didn't do a damn thing to oneal. That's one of the few parts of this where I think a player should be seriously punished.

Ron Artest - 72 games (remainder of season)
Stephen Jackson - 30 games
Jermaine O'neal - 25 games.
Ben Wallace - 5 games (haha, and he started it!)

[Nickname]

That's a funny video, what will happen to the NBA guy in football he'd be like banned for a year.

he was!

[Subjugation]

Good news for my Raptors then. (Anyone else see their 4th quarter comeback from a 20 point deficit against the Spurs with Carter and Rose anchored to the bench?)

Yea, they should benefit from the standings. I can't imagine Indiana going the distance with such a depleted core, but who knows. It's way to early in the season to tell what the playoff ramifications will be. I have no idea if it's even possible for Carlisle to pick up emergency players by putting a few on injured reserve, or if Artest's salary is going to be able to be added back toward the cap, or if the league basically will absorb the salary, or what. Do you have any idea?

Looking at the Raptors schedule, I think you only get 1 game without Oneal and Jackson. Of course you get the remaining 3 without Artest, but you knew that.

Really, all teams that Indiana faces will benefit by this on some small level, and that's a total shame. I just feel terrible for Pacers fans. I can't imagine if my team had a total mental meltdown like that, and I had been spending serious coin on apparel and tickets. Some of these fans spend thousands a year on supporting their team via season tickets, taking their families, buying gear, food, and parking. I think those are the guys that are really going to suffer the most.