On Thursday, December 16, 2004, NBA spokesman Tim Frank made a brief statement to the media about the incident that occurred at the Auburn Hills Palace Arena last night:

"The coalition will not issue any opinion until this incident is reviewed."

There were only three games on the 16th, so the melon-eating crowd began to pay close attention to this event.

The Knicks and Pistons did not speak out immediately, but they didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement.

When Iverson was interviewed by Philadelphia's sports media, the out-of-fashion star showed his personality as always:

"You can't blame the players for reacting like that!"

"There's no doubt that Artest is protecting himself and his brother, that white guy spilled beer, there's someone punching him, and of course the players have to fight back."

"If it were me, I would have made the same choice!"

Vince Carter, who has recently been caught up in trade rumors, also spoke out in front of the media:

"In my opinion, some fans think that they can do anything, it's not fair to the players, the civilized game, and the fans."

"No one likes to be splashed with beer and throw debris, and fans can't hurt the players."

Raptors fans have been malicious to Carter recently, thinking that he betrayed Toronto, and Carter who was interviewed can be regarded as an eye medicine for his own fans.

Unlike other peers, on the ESPN show, host John Sanders didn't talk much about the conflict, but fired directly at Pistons fans:

"This isn't the first time this has happened, and if I'm not mistaken, Pistons fans started attacking players in last year's Eastern Conference Finals!"

'They're not here to play, they're here to vent their emotions and maybe they're having a hard time in their lives, but the chaos is definitely caused by the fans.'

Last night, Sanders was the first to comment on the farce on the show, even calling Pistons fans "punks".

Greg Anthony and Tim Legler didn't say much in the show last night, and after watching the video carefully today, they also spoke:

"There is no doubt about it! If I get a punch, I'll fight back too. ”

"Such behavior is indeed wrong, but the alliance should investigate it carefully."

Legler also didn't talk much about the "knocked out" fan, defending Artest:

"With only a few tens of seconds left on the game and the outcome was decided, Artest did a great job, he made four tackles and limited Williams."

"Pistons fans are venting! It's a fan-sparkled mess and I'd like to see the league look into it. ”

The NBA league has not yet given feedback, and Stephen A. Smith has avoided talking about it on the show.

He knew that the three people around him were trying to speak for the black players, but hitting the fans meant that things were going to get bigger, and David Stern would fine him for dress code and inappropriate speech, which was likely to go straight to the cold.

"I trust the league's investigation, but I'm curious now if Lee can continue to lead the team to win."

"They're doing really well at the moment, and it's more about Lee's performance than just the schedule!"

Noticing that the partners wanted to continue the conversation with the previous topic, Stephen A. Smith spoke up again:

"If there is really a lack of two main players, it may be an opportunity for other teams, basketball is five people, Lee and the coaching staff have to prepare in advance."

"Three times in a row, I don't think anyone would refuse to achieve something like this again."

“.”

On Friday the 17th, the Knicks had flown to Philadelphia in the morning, and no matter what the league would do, the night's game would have to continue.

The new Vallejo was dumbfounded last night, he didn't expect such a clash to happen in an ordinary regular season.

Although Mutombo thinks that the league will impose heavy penalties, he believes that even if the league does the penalty, it will not affect the Knicks' record.

After coming to the hotel to check in, Valacho was silent, and Mutombo comforted Artest:

"Don't worry Ron, the league will look into it, and I don't think it will be banned for too long."

"Even if the fans sue you, the union will stand up for you, after all, the other party did it first."

In Philadelphia in December, the weather was already cold, Artest was wearing a wide black sweatshirt, a small red hat, and jeans on his body were also a little fat, and the whole person looked very depressed.

The most direct consequence of punching is the ban, and the ban will bring financial losses.

The same goes for Raga Bell and Stoudemire, whose losses are estimated to be less, but knowing afterwards that Ben Wallace was pulling the rack immediately made them depressed.

Li You doesn't like to toss, he still wears formal clothes when he plays away, and adds a black coat to the outside, and is chatting with the coaching staff about the league's punishment at this time.

The NBA will give a result before the start of the evening game, and Lee believes that Stern will definitely be heavily punished because the media has already started attacking security issues.

Last night, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom joined in the fun, and after Manchester United's shareholders' meeting, it still failed to reach a deal to buy it, which made Lee Woo the target of protests from fans recently.

The other questioned why the NBA auditorium was so close to the court:

"Dollars and security, in the end, the NBA league chose interests."

Although D'Antoni didn't surf the Internet, he also knew that the Knicks were probably going to lose their roster again:

"It's almost afternoon, and it looks like we're going to have to be prepared for Ron to miss the regular season."

Ewing was a little annoyed by the fat ball, and although he was disgusted by the provocation of the fans, he was equally unhappy with Artest's heavy punch:

"If it's just an ordinary push, Ron is suspended for a few games at most, he doesn't control his emotions, this is the worst option!"

"I said a long time ago that those brothers only cause trouble, and the black people are like that, and he thinks he is still the gangster who sells leaves?"

"He makes millions of dollars a year, he's a millionaire, and as a result, he's always messed around with those Nigo for the past few years, and sooner or later those people will spend all the money on him."

Ewing and Oakley have always liked to pretend to be big guys, and they always insist that when they are rich, they should be a little forced, rather than still looking like those gangsters.

When it comes to Artest's followers, the gorilla is particularly unhappy, and even turns over the old story of Artest selling leaves when he was a child.

Li You is not interested in commenting on black culture, this phenomenon is very common in the United States, and when good brothers are developed, they naturally want to follow the chicken and dog to heaven.

"My concern is that after the ban, the league will ban Ron from public training."

"If you can't play for half a season, it's definitely a problem for players who are on the rise."

When several people heard Li You's words, they shook their heads one after another, saying that they had no solution, and at this time they could only rely on the players' self-discipline.

What's even more troublesome is that the New York media will not forget Artest, and after being banned, the melon-eating masses will prefer to see his daily life.

Hill thought of the advice given by the medical team and whispered:

"Maybe it's a good idea to let Ron go through psychotherapy thoroughly."

"Seeing a psychiatrist should help him with his emotional control problems."

Grant Hill struggles to empathize with black players at the bottom, and he sympathizes with Artest's experience as a child, but also acquiesces to his teammates' mental illness.

While several people were chatting in a low voice, the sports media quickly targeted Li You.

Philadelphia reporters all had a schadenfreude mentality, noticing that the Knicks staff signaled that they could interview, and everyone swarmed to Li You's side.

Although everyone wants to interview those who have been pulled away, it is not bad to listen to Li You's opinion:

"Lee, if Artest is suspended until the end of the season, will the Knicks be able to defend their title?"

Yahoo Sports didn't ask about last night's incident, the footage is clear, and they are more concerned about the ownership of the championship.

"The league hasn't made a specific decision yet, but I'm confident that my teammates, the Knicks will make it three in a row."

The reporters in Philadelphia all had smiles on their faces, and they couldn't wait to ask Li You:

"With the lack of two key players, will this affect the strength of the Knicks?"

thought that the other party would say to end the Knicks' winning streak, but Li You didn't expect the final question to become so tactful:

'The absence of two key players will certainly affect our strength.

"We've had 70+ wins in two seasons in a row, maybe only 60 wins this year, so we're ready to lose."

After hearing the words, everyone was speechless but powerless to refute, and 60 wins are actually difficult to achieve

The NBA didn't keep the Knicks waiting long, and in the afternoon NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement:

"The events in last night's game were shocking and unforgivable for the league."

"It's a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA league!"

"We have been emphasising that players are not allowed in the stands and that no matter what kind of provocative actions are made by the fans watching the game, this is not allowed."

"The detailed investigation is still ongoing, please trust the NBA league."

"Until the investigation is formally concluded, the following actions will be formally effective:

New York Knicks player Ron Artest and Detroit Pistons player Ben Wallace are suspended indefinitely, and the exact suspension time will be announced on Saturday;

New York Knicks players Laga Bell and Amare Stoudemire will be suspended for four games, and Detroit Pistons player Rasheed Wallace will be suspended for six games. ”

Many sports journalists were a little surprised to hear of the indefinite suspension.

This means that the NBA league will probably impose the heaviest penalties, and Artest will most likely not receive the rest of the season's salary.

After the statement, David Stern didn't give too many interviews, saying only that tomorrow the league would give a final finding.

Pistons CEO Tom Wilson followed suit with a statement:

"John Green is a longtime season ticket holder for the Pistons, but starting today, Green will be barred from Auburn Hills Palace Arena."

The Detroit Free Press broke the news that John Green, who spilled beer, was from the town of Seabloom-Field, and local prosecutor David Gorcica also made a statement in front of the media:

"Green has several criminal convictions, along with three DUI records."

"Green was given a suspended sentence on the condition that he stopped drinking, and apparently, he failed to fulfill his promise."

When asked by Detroit media if Artest could claim to fight back in self-defense, Gorcica denied it:

"Even if someone drinks beer, you don't have a license to hit them."

"What's more, the fans who were knocked out weren't drinkers."

After this news was announced, the people who ate melons laughed:

"Ron Artest actually hit the wrong person!"

John Green, the person who spilled the beer, was also interviewed:

"I hope the whole thing didn't happen!"

"I'm sure the players involved in this are as sorry as I am, and Detroit fans don't want to see this kind of violence."

"I didn't mean to, now that I think about what happened last night, it's horrible!"

Before the game against the 76ers, after several messages were posted on the Internet, New York fans were furious and began to spray gloating fun.

After most sports media saw these news, they also felt a little speechless, how funny this matter is

Prince was in the starting lineup that night, and the game went on as usual.

Philadelphia fans cheered passionately after the opening kick-off, cheering loudly for the home team.

They haven't beaten the Knicks in the regular season since '96, and tonight we see hope!

With 9 wins and 12 losses, the 76ers need a win!

Iverson partnered Willie Green at the back tonight, with Andrey Godara, Kenny Thomas and Durham Porter up front.

One big and four small, as the game progressed, Iverson and Kenny Thomas began to make voluntary mistakes to help the Knicks easily counterattack.

Iguodala, who worked hard defensively, had a low presence on the offensive end, but Iverson was as stubborn as ever, and the 76ers didn't score for a few minutes after the opening minute.

In the end, it was Willie Green's free throws that helped the team break the scoring drought.

Trying to move the Knicks' defense with a quicker pass ball, the 76ers tried to slow down the pace of the game, but it didn't do much.

At 29:14, at the end of the first quarter, Philadelphia fans were extremely disappointed.

"Shh

At the intermission, boos rang out through the arena, and Iverson, who was heavily armed, sat on the bench and did not speak.

Iguodala glanced at the boss quietly, when playing against other teams, Iverson is still very leader, but the Knicks are different

With 1-of-4 shooting in the quarter, 1-of-2 free throws, 3-pointers and 2 turnovers, Iverson was as consistent as ever.

In the final game, the 76ers blacksmith possessed from outside the three-point line and could only hit the basket again and again.

Kenny Thomas always made mistakes against the Knicks' zone defense, and the boos grew louder and louder for a while.

The half-time game failed to narrow the score, and in the third quarter, the Philadelphia fans broke the defense again, and the margin returned to the familiar 20 points.

After garbage time in the fourth quarter, the score came to 113-95, and the Knicks continued their winning streak.

Iverson, who did his best, played 40 minutes, shooting 7-of-19, 0-of-2 from beyond the three-point line, 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, and finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 6 turnovers.

The boos in the arena couldn't stop, and the Philadelphia fans on either side of the tunnel didn't give Iverson a good look.

After the game, Iguodala watched Willie Green and Lee Youyou say and laugh, and chose to follow the boss player in the tunnel after hesitation:

"Is this still our home turf?"

Li You noticed that the security personnel entered early, and when he thought of Artest, who had already taken the plane back to Manhattan in advance, he could only shake his head secretly:

"Is the alliance going to make an example of the monkeys?"

On the morning of Saturday, December 18, the NBA league announced the final penalty results of the Auburn Hills Palace incident:

"Knicks player Ron Artest will be banned for the remainder of the season."

"Participation in team training and public events is prohibited."

For such a serious punishment, the players' union also intervened as soon as possible, and President Billy Hunt once again stated:

"Such a penalty is unfair and we agree that a 35-match ban would be more appropriate for Artest."

However, under the collective bargaining rules, the league has the discretion to punish on-court behavior, and all appeals are made through David Stern.

On the night of the 19th, the Knicks, who returned to their home court, easily defeated the Jazz who were missing Kirilenko.

Despite the win, the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden suffered.

After the game, in an interview with MSG, Li You did not talk about the punishment again, and after taking the microphone, he loudly assured the fans at the scene:

"The Knicks are going to have a tough season, and we're still going to win championships!"

“Wow！”

New York fans naturally believed in Li You's assurance, and D'Antoni looked at the figure of Artest on the bench, and couldn't help but shake his head slightly:

"It's the worst possible outcome."

(End of chapter)