Who could forget about the Utah Jazz this week? They have gotten all these victories lately, coming back from tons of deficits but turning them into another number added into the win-column, beating the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and the Atlanta Hawks.

Another upset that happened were the Toronto Raptors, coming in a tight race with the Magic, but cruising towards a 110-103 victory.

I’d like to call this upset week. The Pacers were part of it, twice I guess. Mike Dunleavy helped fuel a win for the Pacers over the Denver Nuggets, destroying them 144-113. But now Indiana is the team that got beat, falling to the now 2-6 Houston Rockets, 102-99.

This was a very disappointing game, in my opinion. I did not like how the Pacers performed here. It was inexcusable. Indiana cannot lose games like these to teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Rockets. Now they are at 3-4. Really, I think they should be at 5-2, no doubt.

But it is what it is.

Without Yao Ming, the Rockets managed to win. Brad Miller and Luis Scola helped step up big time in the team’s win. With this win, could be going back on track? We’ll see.

“It was big for us to finally win one of these games,” said Miller, who scored seven of his 14 second-half points during the Rockets’ game-clinching, 18-8 fourth-quarter run.

“Our six losses have been a lot like this. We’ve had the lead with five minutes to go, or three minutes to go. It’s just figuring out how to win one. All of our games have been similar, we just finally did the right things at the end.”

Miller provided 23 points as Scola put up 16. The Rockets look like they could be good to without their Chinese superstar.

“We can’t worry about who isn’t here,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “We’ve gone without Yao for a year and a half.”

Kevin Martin had 20 points and Kyle Lowry had 13 in the Rockets upset victory.

“They’re a very talented team,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said. “They’re used to playing without Yao. I think it’s fools’ gold if somebody is out of the game (to think) you have an edge.”

James Posey, the new acquisition, had his best game as a Pacer so far, coming up with 19 points. Roy Hibbert wasn’t far behind, coming up with 18 points. Danny Granger had 17 points while Mike Dunleavy had 15 points. Darren Collison had 13. The Big Three for Indy in Hibbert, Granger, and Collison, did not produce as usual today, and it was disappointing at that fact.

“We couldn’t get stops when we needed to,” Dunleavy said. “We let them get away and we just couldn’t keep up with them. We never got into our tempo or our rhythm. We had a lot of breakdowns on both sides of the ball.”

Towards the end, the Rockets maintained a 97-93 lead. The Pacers caught up and were within a 102-97 deficit.

“We needed that confidence just because of how we’ve been in every game and not been able to pull them off,” Martin said. “Tonight we just played together and the right way down the stretch. I think we really just buckled down and said, ‘We’re going to close this one out.’

“It kind of just came from within. Coach talked about mental toughness and that’s what we had tonight.”

The Pacers then got another shot in, only down 102-99 then. They just needed a three-pointer and they could have gotten towards overtime.

Collison received the ball, but was getting guarded up pretty well. Indy could have had at least two-to-three tries to score, but Collison took too much off the clock as Indy could only squeak in one shot in the final seconds. Collison missed badly.

Pacers lose.

They will face the Cleveland Cavaliers next in Quicken Loans Arena tonight. Indy better get a win this time around. .500 is the key.

Click here to see The Pacers Years: Jermaine O’Neal

Hello all and welcome to the second part in my tale of great Pacers players. Today, I discuss Ron Artest’s career with Indy.

2001

It all began during the 2001-02 NBA season. Artest was currently with the Chicago Bulls, making a name for himself.

It was on Feburary 19, 2002, when Ron Artest was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, and Norm Richardson. Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, and Kevin Ollie were the others along with Artest to be traded to the Pacers in the seven-player trade.

From Chicago Bulls official website:

“We are excited to acquire two players the caliber of Jalen Rose and Travis Best,” said Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jerry Krause.

“We feel Jalen is an outstanding all-around player who can play three positions offensively and defensively. He’s a very good passer, extremely unselfish, a fine scorer and in the prime of his career at age 29. His leadership qualities and versatility are an added plus.

“Travis is a proven scorer and defender and, at 29, also in his prime. We hated to trade Artest, Miller, Mercer and Ollie, but to get quality you have to give quality. One of the reasons we felt we could part with Artest and Mercer is the continuing outstanding play of rookie Trenton Hassell at both ends of the court. We think that in Eddy Curry and Dalibor Bagaric we have two big, young centers who will be valuable for many years to come.”

Artest looked to be a great contributor and have a key role when he arrives in Indy. During the last 28 games of the season in which Artest played with the Pacers, he had averages of about eleven points, five rebounds, and about two assists per game as the Pacers went 42-40 that year, eventually losing in the first round to the New Jersey Nets.

Artest looked to accomplish his goal next year of winning a NBA ring.

2002

Artest was looking to improve this year after last year’s performance with the Pacers. Artest averaged about 16 points, about five rebounds, about two assists, and about one block per game with Indy during the 2002-03 season.

During that year, the Pacers went 48-34 and made the playoffs, being in second place in the Central Division. But the Pacers ended up as a first-round exit once again, losing to the Boston Celtics by 4-2 in the series. Although the Pacers failed that year, there is still some hope.

And Artest was there to prove it.

2003

Artest had a great year in the 2003-04 season. He averaged about 18 points, about five rebounds, about four assists, and about one block per game. With these impressive stats, Artest won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, proving that he is was building a big name for himself on the Pacers and the whole league.

Ron Artest edged out Ben Wallace when he was with the Detroit Pistons that year by about 100 votes. Here were the votes tallied for the award:

2003-04 NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR RESULTS

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Ron Artest, Indiana	80	20	16	476
Ben Wallace, Detroit	26	61	12	325
Theo Ratliff, Portland	8	10	20	90
Bruce Bowen, San Antonio	4	10	26	76
Andrei Kirilenko, Utah	2	12	21	67
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota	0	7	15	36
Tim Duncan, San Antonio	0	1	5	8
Clifford Robinson, Golden State	1	0	0	5
Kenyon Martin, New Jersey	0	0	2	2
James Posey, Memphis	0	0	1	1
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers	0	0	1	1
Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers	0	0	1	1
Earl Watson, Memphis	0	0	1	1

Not only was Artest commanding that year, so was his team. The Pacers went 61-21 that year, being number one in the Central Division and the entire league. The Pacers were being very aggressive this year and were looking to bring that same momentum, if not more, in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Although they did sweep Boston in the first round, then beat the Heat 4-2 in the second round, the Conference Finals was depressing. They lost to the Detroit Pistons 4-2 in the series, but they fought hard. It was a great year, as Artest and his fellow teammate, Reggie Miller, will enter their last year with the Pacers franchise.

2004

During Ron’s last year in the 2004-05 NBA season, Artest was  averaging about 25 points, about seven rebounds, about three assists, and about one block per game with the team. But he only played seven games. Why so little? During a game against the Detroit Pistons, a brawl happened which was known as “Malace at the Palace.”

Here was a conversation Artest had ESPN’s Jim Gray:

Jim Gray: What happened that led up to this [brawl]?

Ron Artest: I thought it was an OK foul. The refs told me it wasn’t a technical and it wasn’t a flagrant. I think [Ben] Wallace’s reaction was too much. I don’t mind him pushing me. But he also caught me in my nose. I’m not sure what will happen regarding that … I was lying on the table when Wallace threw a towel at me. I got up and then was lying down again when I got hit with a liquid, ice and glass container on my chest and on my face. After that it was self defense.

JG: Did anyone from security or police talk to you?

RA: They came in to ask me if I needed [medical] help. I just thanked them to help me get out of the building. … I can’t say anything else on the advice of [Pacers CEO/president Donnie Walsh].

It was truly just a crazy brawl. It was one of the craziest things the world of the NBA fans witnessed.

Said Bucknut248 in a comment of the video above:

The fight that killed the pacers franchise…. from contender to pretender in just like that.

I agree. It was truly just crazy but it was also the Pistons fault as well during the game. Both teams never took control of their actions and emotions. What they did was stupid. And that was what caused Artest to be suspended for the whole year, and leave the Pacers the next year.

2005

Actually, Ron Artest stayed with the Pacers during the 2005-06 season, but not fully. Artest only played 16 games for the team. President Larry Bird said Artest must go.

Artest was off playing for the Sacramento Kings, then for the Houston Rockets in the 2008-09 season. Artest is currently on the Los Angeles Lakers as he appears that he will be starting at small forward and being a replacement for Trevor Ariza.

Although the brawl had ruined his Pacers career.

Let’s not forgot what he has done for them, for all these years.