The NBA players' union filed an appeal on behalf of Ron Artest and two teammates on the Indiana Pacers who were suspended for their roles in a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans last week.
The union asked that an arbitrator decide whether there should be reductions in the suspensions of Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal. Artest was banned for the season, or 72 games, Jackson for 30 games and O'Neal for 25.
Artest said Tuesday he wished he had not gotten into the fight but felt the punishment was too harsh. The suspension means he will lose about US$5 million in pay.
"I don't think it was fair -- that many games," Artest said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.
Union director Billy Hunter has called the penalties excessive, saying a suspension of about 35 games would have been more appropriate for Artest. Commissioner David Stern, who issued the suspensions, has sole discretion under collective-bargaining rules over penalties for on-court behavior, and appeals also go through him.
The union, however, asked that the case go to an arbitrator.
"The action taken by the commissioner sets a new high-water mark in terms of the kind of discipline he feels he can impose," Hunter said in a telephone interview. "I think he has exceeded his authority and should be subject to review and challenge."
Stern would normally have 20 days to rule on an appeal of an on-court discipline matter, and it was unclear whether the union's appeal strategy would put this case under that timetable.
"The players association's efforts to bring this matter before an arbitrator ignores the plain language of the collective bargaining agreement and the consistent past practice of the parties and will ultimately fail," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said.
The union's appeal also contests the brawl-related suspensions of six other players involved.
An NBA spokesman declined comment.
Pacers spokesman David Benner said the team had not yet decided if or how it might contest the penalties.
Artest bolted into the stands Friday after being hit by a cup thrown by a fan, touching off a brawl in which players exchanged punches with fans, who also threw drinks, popcorn, and other debris at the Pacers. Jackson also went into the stands and exchanged punches with fans, while O'Neal hit a fan who ran onto the court.
"This is the third time that I've been hit with something out of the crowd," said Artest, who claimed he had been struck previously in Detroit and in Cleveland.
Artest used the television opportunity to plug a CD he produced for an R&B group and wore a T-shirt and hat emblazoned with the logo of his record label.
In other developments:
-- Two fans sued the Pacers and the team's three suspended players, contending they were injured in the fracas. Spokesmen for both the Pacers and the Pistons declined comment.
-- Police released a videotape and asked the public's help in identifying a man who investigators believe hurled a chair into the crowd during the brawl. Prosecutor David Gorcyca has said the only possible felony charge in the brawl could be against the chair-thrower.
Jamaal Tinsley had a career-high 29 points and James Jones had a career-best 22 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday to lead the suspension-weakened Indiana Pacers to a 106-96 win over the Boston Celtics.
It was the Pacers' second game without their three stars -- Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal -- and first since the team learned of the harsh punishment handed down by the NBA on Sunday. Several Pacers wore Jackson's and O'Neal's arm bands.
"In a lot of cities, people just come to see stars," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But in this city, people come to watch the game of basketball, and they love it. It just means so much to us as a franchise to get this kind of support in the situation we're in."
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20 points, but shot just 6-of-14 from the field.
Wizards 102, Raptors 86
In Washington, the Wizards won their third straight game under coach Eddie Jordan for the first time, dominating the boards and surviving another late Toronto rally.
Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and Gilbert Arenas had 26, but it was the 64-47 rebounding advantage, including 26-13 on the offensive boards, that allowed Washington to win three in a row for the first time since March 2003, during Doug Collins' last days as coach.
Jamison had 13 rebounds, Jared Jeffries had 12, Brendan Haywood 11 and Jarvis Hayes grabbed nine.
Larry Hughes finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Vince Carter, away from the booing home fans in Toronto, led the Raptors with 25 points.
Bobcats 91, Pistons 89
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Emeka Okafor had the best game of his young rookie season with 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bobcats over Detroit.
The Bobcats won for just the second time this season, and became the first expansion team to beat the reigning NBA champion since Portland and Buffalo defeated the New York Knicks during the 1970-1971 season.
The Pistons had all their players back from suspensions stemming from their brawl last week with the Indiana Pacers except for Ben Wallace, who sat out the second of six games.
Keith Bogans scored 18 points, Gerald Wallace had 17 points and Brevin Knight had 19 assists.
Chauncey Billups, suspended for Sunday night's game, came back to lead Detroit with 24 points. Richard Hamilton scored 14, and Prince and Antonio McDyess had 13 each.
Knicks 104, Hawks 88
In New York, Nazr Mohammed had another strong game against the team that traded him last season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead New York past Atlanta.
Stephon Marbury had 11 assists -- all in the first half -- and Jamal Crawford scored 17 as New York improved to .500 and moved past Boston and Toronto into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
Marbury scored 16, and Kurt Thomas continued his recent strong play with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Antoine Walker scored 20 and Al Harrington 19 for the Hawks.
Trail Blazers 99, Heat 87
In Miami, Zach Randolph had 24 points and Derek Anderson added 19, helping Portland pull away in the second half for a win over Miami.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 16 for Portland.
Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points and 13 rebounds -- his seventh double-double in the last eight games for Miami, which shot 37.5 percent in the second half and fell to 1-4 against the Western Conference.
Nuggets 90, Nets 88
In Denver, Kenyon Martin had 22 points and 12 rebounds against his former team, and Earl Boykins hit runner with 21 seconds left to lift Denver over New Jersey for its fourth straight win.
Richard Jefferson, who led New Jersey with 26 points, got the Nets within a point by hitting one of two free throws with 37 seconds left. But Boykins banked in a shot to make it 90-87.
Andre Miller had 17 points.
Sonics 103, Timberwolves 92
In Minneapolis, Rashard Lewis scored 27 points, Ray Allen added 24 and Seattle beat Minnesota.
Seattle made 10 of 19 3-points attempts. It was the fifth time this season the Sonics have made at least 10 3-pointers.
Lewis hit four of them, all during a 31-14 run that bridged the second and third quarters. Allen had 10 points during that span, shaking off a cold that sidelined him for practice on Monday.
Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Wally Szczerbiak scored 16 points.
Kings 102, Rockets 96
In Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points and Bobby Jackson got 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to help the Kings complete a perfect five-game homestand with a victory over Houston.
Brad Miller scored 13 points and played gritty last-minute defense on Yao Ming in the Kings' sixth straight victory overall.
Houston lost despite making 52 percent of its shots and getting 29 points and nine rebounds from Yao.
Lakers 100, Bucks 96
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and the Lakers held off Milwaukee in the final minute.
Lamar Odom added 17 points and Chris Mihm 12 for Los Angeles.
Desmond Mason scored 26 points off the bench and reserve Mike James added 18 points and 11 assists for the Bucks, who lost their fifth in a row overall and seventh straight against the Lakers since November 2001.
Vlade Divac played his first game since rejoining the Lakers as a free agent during the summer. He had missed the first 11 games because of a herniated disk in his lower back.
Warriors 115, Hornets 109, 3OT
In Oakland, California, Speedy Claxton scored 21 points, including five free throws in the final 15 seconds of the third overtime, to help Golden State beat New Orleans.
Calbert Cheaney scored four of his 18 points in the third 5-minute period, and Jason Richardson had 26 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who beat a Western Conference team for the first time in eight tries this season.
David Wesley scored a season-high 22 points.
The cup that ignited the biggest brawl in US sports history could have been yours.
An item purported to be the cup thrown from the stands at Pacers player Ron Artest last Friday night was on eBay for less than 24 hours after bidding went out of control. The cup, listed for sale by someone from Sterling Heights, Michigan, was put up for auction Monday, but the bidding was closed Tuesday afternoon when the price went to US$99,999,999.
In the description of the cup, the seller wrote: "No sports collection will be complete without the addition of this vintage championship collector's edition beer cup. Simply a must for all Artest fans."
There also were several photos of the cup hitting Artest, though there is no way to prove the authenticity of the cup that was being auctioned.
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