NBA: Not a king in Palace
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Ron Artest played imaginary catch with “friends” in the stands, making gestures like he was tossing a ball underhanded in different directions before his first game at The Palace since the brawl.
The fans simply responded with boos and jeers.
That sure beat his last game in suburban Detroit, when he was hit by a thrown cup and responded by charging into the stands to spark one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history more than two years ago.
Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and Tayshaun Prince added 17 to lead the Pistons to a 91-74 win over Artest and the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Artest had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists before sitting out most of the fourth quarter of the lopsided game that Sacramento never led.
“It was fine coming back,” Artest said. “It was just another game.”
He was sentenced to one year of probation and 60 hours of community service after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault charges.
Artest returned to Detroit last summer for community service, which he said fostered relationships with some people in the area.
“A couple friends, that I met when I came to Detroit, said, ‘When you come into the game we’re going to play catch,”’ Artest said. “I couldn’t really see them because they were all spread out.
“It felt like I had fans there, you know? I threw the ball and they threw it back.”
To prevent a repeat of the ugly events on Nov. 19, 2004, involving Artest, the Indiana Pacers, the Pistons and their fans, a few arena security guards appeared to be assigned to be near Sacramento’s bench in addition to the usual sight of a police officer, arena and team security.
Other than the boos almost every time Artest had the ball, fans teased him about his CD, Mohawk haircut and the black supportive sleeves that covered much of his left leg.
While Artest was reserved in his comments about coming back to the scene of the melee, he took a shot at the Pistons when asked about the addition of Chris Webber.
“They’re not as good as they used to be,” he said. “I can’t really point it out. I remember playing against another type of team.”
The Pistons have won two straight, both with Webber in the starting lineup and scoring in double figures, after losing eight of 11. Webber had 11 points and 10 rebounds.