In announcing today’s actions Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement:

“The penalties issued today deal only with one aspect of this incident – that of player misconduct. The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self-control that should fairly be expected from NBA players. We must affirm that the NBA will strive to exemplify the best that can be offered by professional sports, and not allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations for behavior of fans and athletes alike.

“There are other issues that the NBA must urgently focus on at this time. First, we must redefine the bounds of acceptable conduct for fans attending our games and resolve to permanently exclude those who overstep those bounds. Participants in and around the court must be assured complete protection from unacceptable fan behavior. Second, we must re-examine the adequacy of our current security procedures in Detroit and our other 28 arenas. The actions at Friday’s game, though unprecedented, must now be factored into all efforts to guarantee the well-being of our fans. Third, we must develop and implement new NBA rules to assure that the unavoidable confrontations likely to occur in the heat of competition are not allowed to escalate to the level we witnessed on Friday even prior to the egregious behavior by individuals in the stands.”

Pistons-Pacers ends 45 seconds early in wild brawl!

Saturday, November 20, 2004

JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP Indiana's Ron Artest punched a fan who ran onto the court, knocking the fan down. There were 45.9 seconds left in the game before it was stopped.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Indiana's Ron 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 night, and the brawl forced an early and ugly end to the Pacers' 97-82 win. 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.

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 full cup 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. As the crowd roared, drinks and debris showered the court and the Pacers players covered their heads as they hustled through the runway leading to the locker room. A man in a Pistons jersey approached Artest on the court with fists raised, 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. 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 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?" Lamar Odom of the Lakers saw it for the first time as he was being interviewed: "Whoooo. When you see things like that, just think about what it takes for NBA players to go into a crowd," Odom said. "Sometimes fans get kind of out of hand, but it must have taken a lot for NBA players to go into a crowd and start a fight." 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 to help the Pacers take control. Indiana used a 13-point run in the second quarter to build a 20-point lead. 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. The contest drew a capacity crowd of 22,076, but it had thinned toward the end of the game as the Pacers pulled away. Croshere had 15 points. Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley each scored 13. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 20 points. Rasheed Wallace had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Wallace added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Chauncey Billups had 13 points. Indiana (7-2) has the best record in the East and the Pistons fell to 4-4. Notes:@ Indiana forward Jonathan Bender is expected to be out six weeks with an injured left knee, Carlisle said before the game. ... The Pistons put reserve guard Carlos Delfino on the injured list because of a bruised knee on Friday and activated guard Smush Parker. ... The Pacers hope Pollard (sore back) can play Tuesday against Boston. ... Musical artist Kid Rock and Chris Chelios of the Red Wings sat next to each other at courtside. "That was unbelievable," Chelios said after the game.