W-OLF
03-18-2006, 11:37 PM
Ron Artest Booed in Return to Indianapolis
Published: 3/18/06, 2:47 AM EDT
(AP) - Ron Artest was more concerned about his poor play than the negative reception he received in his return to Indianapolis. Artest scored 18 points, but shot 6-for-22 from the field, including 2-for-14 in the second half in the Sacramento Kings' 98-93 loss to Indiana on Friday night.
"I missed a lot of layups," he said. "I was right there at the bucket and I missed layups. So that was pretty much it. I missed a ton of layups, a ton of layups."
Artest was booed during pregame introductions and every time he touched the ball.
"I was more disappointed that we lost as a team as opposed to playing poorly," Artest said. "We just have to move on and get better. The big thing is we should have won this game."
Artest was playing in Indianapolis for the first time since his trade request was granted and he was sent to the Kings for Peja Stojakovic seven weeks ago.
The boos didn't surprise Indiana guard Stephen Jackson.
"I just told Ron he shouldn't feel bad," Jackson said. "They boo me, and I play here. I don't think it bothered him. If they'll boo me, they'll boo anybody."
The fans saved their loudest pregame cheers for Stojakovic, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Pacers snap the Kings' five-game winning streak.
In other games, it was: New York 105, Detroit 103; Toronto 97, Milwaukee 96; New Jersey 92, the Los Angeles Lakers 89; Memphis 116, Denver 102; San Antonio 108, Phoenix 102; the Los Angeles Clippers 99, Philadelphia 89; Utah 111, Atlanta 101; Orlando 84, Boston 77; Dallas 104, Washington 94; and Cleveland 99, Portland 84.
Artest said his former teammates treated him better than the fans did.
"There was a lot of love," he said.
Artest's return overshadowed Danny Granger's career night. The rookie forward, who Artest has compared to a young Scottie Pippen, scored 23 points.
"He played good," Artest said. "He played real smart tonight. He's probably one of the better players on the team right now."
Knicks 105, Pistons 103
At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking jumper with 2.2 seconds left, and the Knicks rallied to win.
Chauncey Billups scored 24 points for the Pistons, who lost All-Stars Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton to ejections in the third quarter. Their magic number to clinch the Central Division title remained at two.
The victory was New York coach Larry Brown's first over the Pistons since he left Detroit in the offseason and joined the Knicks.
Raptors 97, Bucks 96
At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the Raptors rallied from a 16-point deficit in the final 6 minutes to beat Milwaukee.
The Bucks led 94-78 with 5:41 left, before Toronto finished the game on a 19-2 run - capped by Bosh's two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining.
Nets 92, Lakers 89
At East Rutherford, N.J., Nenad Krstic scored 26 points and tapped in a missed shot by Vince Carter with 13 seconds left to lift New Jersey over the Lakers.
Smush Parker had brought the Lakers to 90-89 on a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left. Carter drove the lane and missed, but Krstic scored on the rebound to give the Nets a three-point lead. Kobe Bryant, who had 24 points, missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Grizzlies 116, Nuggets 102
At Memphis, Tenn., Mike Miller matched a franchise record with 41 points to lead the Grizzlies over Denver.
Miller, who also set a franchise record for points from a reserve, connected on 12 of his first 15 shots and 15-of-24 for the game as the Grizzlies built the lead to 22 in the third quarter.
Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 33 points.
Spurs 108, Suns 102
At San Antonio, Nazr Mohammed matched a career high with 30 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the Spurs over the Suns.
Steve Nash scored 30 points to lead Phoenix (45-20), which had a two-game winning streak stopped. Shawn Marion had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Clippers 99, 76ers 89
At Los Angeles, Elton Brand had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Cuttino Mobley had 20 points against his hometown team, and the Los Angeles Clippers coasted to a victory over Philadelphia.
With their 38th win, the Clippers surpassed their total from last season. Four more victories in their final 18 games would clinch only their second winning season since 1978-79, when the team was based in San Diego.
Chris Webber had 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers.
Jazz 111, Hawks 101
At Atlanta, Utah continued its mastery of Atlanta and stayed close in the Western Conference playoff race.
Deron Williams scored 28 points and had two teammates score more than 20 as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Hawks their fourth straight loss.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 27 points.
Mavericks 104, Wizards 94
At Washington, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points apiece for Dallas.
Jerry Stackhouse, booed every time he touched the ball by Wizards fans disenchanted with his two seasons in Washington, added 17 points for the Mavericks.
Gilbert Arenas scored 26 points for Washington.
Magic 84, Celtics 77
At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots to help the Magic beat Boston.
It was a rare comeback win for Orlando, which won for only the second time in 37 games this season after trailing going into the fourth quarter. The Magic were down 61-59 after three periods.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19 points.
Cavaliers 99, Trail Blazers 84
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points to lead the Cavaliers.
Drew Gooden added a season-high 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak and handed Portland its ninth consecutive road loss.
Sebastian Telfair scored 24 points to lead Portland.
credit BellSouth
Published: 3/18/06, 2:47 AM EDT
(AP) - Ron Artest was more concerned about his poor play than the negative reception he received in his return to Indianapolis. Artest scored 18 points, but shot 6-for-22 from the field, including 2-for-14 in the second half in the Sacramento Kings' 98-93 loss to Indiana on Friday night.
"I missed a lot of layups," he said. "I was right there at the bucket and I missed layups. So that was pretty much it. I missed a ton of layups, a ton of layups."
Artest was booed during pregame introductions and every time he touched the ball.
"I was more disappointed that we lost as a team as opposed to playing poorly," Artest said. "We just have to move on and get better. The big thing is we should have won this game."
Artest was playing in Indianapolis for the first time since his trade request was granted and he was sent to the Kings for Peja Stojakovic seven weeks ago.
The boos didn't surprise Indiana guard Stephen Jackson.
"I just told Ron he shouldn't feel bad," Jackson said. "They boo me, and I play here. I don't think it bothered him. If they'll boo me, they'll boo anybody."
The fans saved their loudest pregame cheers for Stojakovic, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Pacers snap the Kings' five-game winning streak.
In other games, it was: New York 105, Detroit 103; Toronto 97, Milwaukee 96; New Jersey 92, the Los Angeles Lakers 89; Memphis 116, Denver 102; San Antonio 108, Phoenix 102; the Los Angeles Clippers 99, Philadelphia 89; Utah 111, Atlanta 101; Orlando 84, Boston 77; Dallas 104, Washington 94; and Cleveland 99, Portland 84.
Artest said his former teammates treated him better than the fans did.
"There was a lot of love," he said.
Artest's return overshadowed Danny Granger's career night. The rookie forward, who Artest has compared to a young Scottie Pippen, scored 23 points.
"He played good," Artest said. "He played real smart tonight. He's probably one of the better players on the team right now."
Knicks 105, Pistons 103
At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking jumper with 2.2 seconds left, and the Knicks rallied to win.
Chauncey Billups scored 24 points for the Pistons, who lost All-Stars Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton to ejections in the third quarter. Their magic number to clinch the Central Division title remained at two.
The victory was New York coach Larry Brown's first over the Pistons since he left Detroit in the offseason and joined the Knicks.
Raptors 97, Bucks 96
At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the Raptors rallied from a 16-point deficit in the final 6 minutes to beat Milwaukee.
The Bucks led 94-78 with 5:41 left, before Toronto finished the game on a 19-2 run - capped by Bosh's two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining.
Nets 92, Lakers 89
At East Rutherford, N.J., Nenad Krstic scored 26 points and tapped in a missed shot by Vince Carter with 13 seconds left to lift New Jersey over the Lakers.
Smush Parker had brought the Lakers to 90-89 on a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left. Carter drove the lane and missed, but Krstic scored on the rebound to give the Nets a three-point lead. Kobe Bryant, who had 24 points, missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Grizzlies 116, Nuggets 102
At Memphis, Tenn., Mike Miller matched a franchise record with 41 points to lead the Grizzlies over Denver.
Miller, who also set a franchise record for points from a reserve, connected on 12 of his first 15 shots and 15-of-24 for the game as the Grizzlies built the lead to 22 in the third quarter.
Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 33 points.
Spurs 108, Suns 102
At San Antonio, Nazr Mohammed matched a career high with 30 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the Spurs over the Suns.
Steve Nash scored 30 points to lead Phoenix (45-20), which had a two-game winning streak stopped. Shawn Marion had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Clippers 99, 76ers 89
At Los Angeles, Elton Brand had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Cuttino Mobley had 20 points against his hometown team, and the Los Angeles Clippers coasted to a victory over Philadelphia.
With their 38th win, the Clippers surpassed their total from last season. Four more victories in their final 18 games would clinch only their second winning season since 1978-79, when the team was based in San Diego.
Chris Webber had 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers.
Jazz 111, Hawks 101
At Atlanta, Utah continued its mastery of Atlanta and stayed close in the Western Conference playoff race.
Deron Williams scored 28 points and had two teammates score more than 20 as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Hawks their fourth straight loss.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 27 points.
Mavericks 104, Wizards 94
At Washington, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points apiece for Dallas.
Jerry Stackhouse, booed every time he touched the ball by Wizards fans disenchanted with his two seasons in Washington, added 17 points for the Mavericks.
Gilbert Arenas scored 26 points for Washington.
Magic 84, Celtics 77
At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots to help the Magic beat Boston.
It was a rare comeback win for Orlando, which won for only the second time in 37 games this season after trailing going into the fourth quarter. The Magic were down 61-59 after three periods.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19 points.
Cavaliers 99, Trail Blazers 84
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points to lead the Cavaliers.
Drew Gooden added a season-high 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak and handed Portland its ninth consecutive road loss.
Sebastian Telfair scored 24 points to lead Portland.
credit BellSouth