Pacers–Pistons brawl

The Pacers–Pistons brawl was a violent fight. It took place at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004.^[1] It happened at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Associated Press called it "the most infamous brawl in NBA history."^[2] The media called it "the worst night in NBA history."

With 45.9 seconds left in the game, Pistons center Ben Wallace went up for a layup. He was fouled by Pacers small forward Ron Artest. Wallace was mad for being fouled when the game had been already decided. He pushed Artest. A fight took place on the court between several players. When the fight was broken up, a fan threw a drink at Artest while he was lying on the scorer's table. Artest then went after the fan. That caused a massive fight between players and spectators. The fight went from the seats to the court. It lasted several minutes.

After the game, the NBA didn't allow nine NBA players a total of 146 games. That led to $11 million in salaries being lost by the players.^[3]

Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Stephen Jackson were taken from NBA basketball playing for a time on November 20, 2004.^[4]

Artest was taken from NBA basketball playing for the rest of the 2004–05 season. He lost almost $5 million in salary. Jermaine O'Neal also lost more than $4 million for his part in the fights. The players who were removed lost a total of $11 million in salary.^[5]