The Best Point Guard

Chapter 365: Chapter 111: [Are You Worried About LeBron James]

The Auburn Hills Palace was in absolute chaos, but sports fans across America were thrilled.

The scene was just too explosive.

The Wallace brothers’ faces were bloodied, with blood streaming down. Artest’s and Stephen Jackson’s jerseys were torn to shreds. Over on the other side, Jermaine O’Neal’s eye was swollen, and Prince’s lip was split.

As for the other players who got involved in the melee, you couldn’t tell if they were trying to break up the fight or just fighting themselves.

’In short, with things having escalated this far, what’s the harm in getting a couple of kicks in amid the chaos?’

It took the three referees a tremendous amount of effort, with the help of security, to finally separate everyone. The coaches from both teams rushed to the front lines of the brawl, repeatedly yelling, "Calm down! Calm down!"

But how the hell were they supposed to calm down?

Ben Wallace had already been pulled away over to the scorer’s table, but he was still roaring and bellowing, trying to charge back and get Artest. Covered in blood, he looked absolutely ferocious. But he was surrounded by several people and couldn’t break through.

Artest, for his part, wasn’t scared; he just ached all over.

He had been pinned and mauled by Ben Wallace and hadn’t gotten the better of the exchange, except for the fact that Wallace had taken a punch to the bridge of his nose, which was now broken and bleeding profusely.

Seeing that the two sides were separated, the head referee started blowing his whistle, ejecting Rashid Wallace, Ben Wallace, Prince, Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O’Neal, Artest, and Tony Battie all at once.

Tony Battie’s ejection was a bit unfair; he was like a fool who showed up late to the party. By the time he rushed onto the court, the fight was almost over. Just as he lifted his leg to stomp on someone, the head referee caught him red-handed.

He hadn’t even kicked anyone yet.

But based on that action—and his ’track record’ from last season’s brawl at the Auburn Hills Palace—he was ejected.

As they were leaving the court and heading down the players’ tunnel, the four Pacers players were showered with popcorn and beer from the home crowd. Someone even threw their baseball cap at them. Artest got hit, picked up the cap, and fiercely threw it back, causing another commotion.

But under the escort of security personnel, they finally made it through.

Su Xi watched from in front of his TV, completely stunned.

Scarlett grew impatient waiting in the bathroom. She couldn’t help but call out, "Hey, Jack, what are you doing?"

"It’s a river of blood..." Su Xi said.

"I know, so why aren’t you hurrying up?" Scarlett said.

Oh.

Su Xi suddenly understood. He quickly started rummaging through Scarlett’s bag.

...

The brawl at the Auburn Hills Palace quickly made headlines across all major media outlets, becoming the most explosive moment of the NBA season.

A basketball game had turned into a fighting match, a battle royale even.

Many fans who watched the game declared it incredibly thrilling.

However, the hardcore fans of both teams were worried. The fight might have been satisfying to watch, but what came next?

David Stern was currently pushing hard for the NBA’s globalization, trying to bring the game into middle-class homes. He would not allow such a crude and barbaric incident to happen in the NBA. He would surely issue an epic-level punishment for this epic-level brutal brawl.

How many games would they be suspended for?

Considering both teams had a prior record from last season, the league would certainly not allow this blood feud to escalate further. They were bound to take the most severe disciplinary action.

For the key players involved, would the suspensions start at twenty games? Or thirty?

And whether it was twenty games or thirty, it would fundamentally alter the landscape of the Eastern Conference regular season.

After the game, both Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown refused to comment on the brawl.

When asked about potential future suspensions, they both remained tight-lipped.

Clearly, they were both trying to de-escalate the situation.

No matter how indignant they felt, they had to wait for the league’s official ruling.

It is worth mentioning that the Pacers won the game.

The final score was 81-73.

Although the Pacers lost four players, their bench depth was still a tiny bit better than the Pistons’. With the Pistons losing the two Wallaces and Prince, their interior defense was essentially gone.

With this victory, the Pacers moved into first place in the East.

But at this moment, everyone knew that being first in the East was meaningless.

Right now, the happiest team in the entire East had to be the Miami Heat. When the first and second-place teams are at each other’s throats, the third-place team is naturally the happiest.

That evening, Carlisle called Su Xi. "It’s a good thing you didn’t come to Detroit tonight," he said. "Otherwise, our season really would have been over."

Su Xi sounded regretful. "Maybe if I had been there, the outcome would have been completely different," he said.

"No. If you were on the court, you would have gotten into it too," Carlisle said firmly. "It was unavoidable."

"Your job is about to get a lot harder."

Carlisle said.

Su Xi nodded.

...

The next afternoon, the NBA handed down the largest penalty in its history. Ron Artest was suspended for 35 games and fined 50,000 USD. Ben Wallace was suspended for 25 games and fined 50,000 USD. Rashid Wallace and Stephen Jackson were suspended for 20 games and fined 30,000 USD. Jermaine O’Neal and Tayshaun Prince were suspended for 15 games and fined 20,000 USD. Tony Battie was suspended for 1 game.

When the penalties were announced, Tony Battie felt wronged. "It’s like I’m a wanted man, but the goddamn bounty is only five bucks."

"Meaning what I did wasn’t that big of a deal."

"Meaning you don’t think I’m anybody important."

That was Tony Battie’s complaint in Larry Bird’s office.

His complaints broke the otherwise serious atmosphere in the office, and everyone couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

’He kind of had a point.’

"How about I file an appeal with David Stern and get you suspended for 50 games instead?" Larry Bird said, glaring at him angrily.