Fists were flying. So were cups, plastic bottles and even a chair in one of the ugliest NBA brawls ever -- and Indiana's Ron Artest was right in the middle of it.
Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, and the brawl forced an early end to the Pacers' 97-82 win.
PHOTO: AP
Officials stopped the game with 45.9 seconds remaining after pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands once fans got involved by throwing things at the players near the scorer's table.
"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who was in the middle of the confrontation, trying to break it up.
After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, a chair, beer, ice, and popcorn were thrown at the Pacers as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.
"I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm sorry the game had to end this way."
The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.
It all started when Detroit's Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest from behind, and escalated when Artest stormed into the stands after being hit by a full cup.
After being fouled, Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.
As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest sprawled out on his back on the scorer's table, looking relaxed.
Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a cup and beverage thrown from the stands. He jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.
Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the melee.
"I was worried about Stephen Jackson and Artest, as silly as they were acting," Brown said.
Security personnel and ushers tried to break up the fighting. Former Pistons player Rick Mahorn, who was seated courtside as a Detroit radio analyst, tried to stop the brawl in the stands.
"The police investigation is ongoing and that's it," said Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek, who refused to further comment.
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace and Indiana's David Harrison were also in or near the stands. Both were trying to break up the fights.
Later, a man in a Pistons jersey approached Artest on the court, shouting at him. Artest punched him in the face, knocking the man to the floor before leaving the court. Artest was pulled away, and the fan charged back. Jermaine O'Neal stepped in and punched the man.
"The NBA is withholding comment until it can review the incident," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
Players from both teams left the arena without comment.
Quentin Richardson of the Phoenix Suns watched the brawl on television.
"I have never seen a fight like that in a game since I was in high school," he said. "Man, there are going to be some lawsuits. You don't think some of those fans aren't going to want some NBA money?"
Police prevented reporters from crossing the loading dock to get to Indiana's locker room or the area where the Pacers' bus was located.
"I'm just embarrassed for our league and disappointed for our young people to see that," Brown said.
Before the contest was stopped, Artest had quite a game and the Pacers were dominating the defending NBA champions in their first meeting since the Eastern Conference finals.
Artest scored 17 of his 24 points in the first quarter and the Pacers led by 20 in the second. Detroit used a 9-0 outburst early in the fourth quarter to close within 82-77.
The Pacers put the game away when Austin Croshere and Jackson made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push their lead to 12 points with 4:31 left.
Despite the lopsided score in the final minute, most of the key players for both teams were still in the game.
SuperSonics 101, Raptors 94
In Toronto, Rashard Lewis scored 27 points and Ray Allen had 24 to lead Seattle past Toronto for its ninth straight victory.
Antonio Daniels scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the surprising SuperSonics, who have the NBA's best record at 9-1. They've won nine straight for the first time since January 1997, and improved to 3-0 on a six-game, 10-day road trip.
Vince Carter had 21 points for the Raptors, losers of five straight.
Spurs 92, Celtics 84
In Boston, Tim Duncan scored 26 points for San Antonio to stay unbeaten in all 14 of his games against Boston.
Trailing 66-59 after three quarters, the Spurs opened the fourth with a 25-6 run in which 18 of their points came off Boston's eight turnovers. The Spurs scored the last 13 points of the surge that led to their sixth straight victory.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 points and Tony Parker had 16.
Boston was led by Paul Pierce with 25 points and Gary Payton with 16, and lost despite ourebounding the Spurs 44-29.
Heat 107, Jazz 105, OT
In Miami, Dwyane Wade capped a career-high 39-point night with a jumper at the buzzer in overtime to lead Miami over Utah. The second-year guard had 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, leading the Heat past a Western Conference opponent for the first time in four tries this season.
Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points -- with 2-for-10 foul shooting -- and 11 rebounds for Miami before fouling out with 1:19 left in overtime. Eddie Jones added 17 for the Heat.
Carlos Boozer had 25 points and nine rebounds for Utah, which led by nine in the fourth quarter.
Suns 107, Lakers 102
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 33 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 51.8 seconds remaining to lift Phoenix over the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was the third consecutive 30-plus game for the third-year power forward -- the first Suns frontcourt player to do that since Charles Barkley in 1995-1996.
After shooting 0-for-10 in the first half, Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 29 points in the second and finished with a triple-double, but he missed two 3-pointers late while the Suns went on a 9-3 run over the final minute.
Steve Nash had 18 points and 16 assists, while Shawn Marion had 27 points and 15 rebounds.
Mavericks 103, Knicks 101
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead Dallas past New York.
Josh Howard added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who led by as many as 10 early in the fourth quarter and then had to withstand a late rally by the Knicks.
Jamal Crawford had 26 points and Stephon Marbury added 24 points and eight assists to pace the Knicks.
Kings 107, Grizzlies 105
In Sacramento, California, Chris Webber had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as Sacramento rallied in the fourth quarter for a victory over Memphis.
Webber scored 13 points in the fourth period, making several dunks and perimeter shots.
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