NBA BRAWL Pacers rally around teammates

Roster moves are being planned to replenish the roster.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Immediately after Jamaal Tinsley made a layup in the third quarter that got the Indiana Pacers rolling to an improbable win over Boston, he raised his hand and extended three fingers.
It was a signal to the Pacers' three stars -- Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson -- who were suspended for their involvement in an ugly brawl with Detroit fans last week.
In the two games since losing the core that was supposed to lead Indiana to the NBA Finals, and while still struggling with myriad injuries, the Pacers have shown they are not going to give up.
Despite having just six healthy players in uniform, the Pacers took Orlando to the wire before losing by just three points Saturday, just hours after the melee.
Indiana used seven players in Tuesday's 106-96 win over the Celtics that kept the Pacers atop the Eastern Conference.
"I can just picture Ronnie, Jermaine and Jack watching the game and jumping for joy," said James Jones, who scored a career-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds against the Celtics. "Just like we were on the court and just like the fans were."
No more to say
Artest has been banned for the season, Jackson for 30 games and O'Neal for 25 games. The players' union is appealing the suspensions.
The replays from Friday night's brawl in Detroit have been on a nearly continuous loop on televisions across the country.
Artest bolted to the stands to go after a fan who he thought threw a cup that hit him in the face. He later punched a fan who ran onto the court.
Jackson joined Artest in the stands, throwing several punches, and O'Neal slugged another fan who was on the court.
The video has been shown from every angle, and lawsuits are starting to trickle in against the Pacers.
"They've shown it 300 times," said Fred Jones, who is averaging 23.5 points in the last two games. "If you've watched TV at all this weekend, you had to see it."
At practice on Wednesday, reporters were told the Pacers were done commenting on the brawl.
The Pacers' fans were equally tired of seeing their team's actions and seem to have united behind their undermanned charges, turning Conseco Fieldhouse into a raucous atmosphere more consistent with Game 7 of a playoff series than a regular season game in November.
"It's sort of reminiscent of the crowd at Phog Allen," former Kansas player Scot Pollard said. "That's the crowd I've been waiting to play in front of in Indiana."
Tougher games upcoming
Fueled by the supportive fans, Jamaal Tinsley and James Jones led the Pacers to an emotional win against the Celtics, but the competition is about to get stiffer.
After playing two middling Eastern Conference teams, Western power Minnesota comes to town tonight. The Pacers play Charlotte on Friday, then head West for five games, their first road games since the fight.
"No one's going to feel sorry for us," Austin Croshere said. "When we go to play these other teams, they're not going to take it easy on us."
Help is on the way. Reggie Miller and Jeff Foster are getting closer to returning from their injuries, and Anthony Johnson began serving his five-game suspension Tuesday.
Carlisle said Wednesday the team planned to add free agents Tremaine Fowlkes and Britton Johnsen to supplement the losses of O'Neal, Jackson and Artest.
"We understand now that we're going to have to adjust our style and be very precise at both ends of the court," Carlisle said. "We're going to have to be efficient. We'll have to play at an extremely high level in terms of intensity. We are still, in the big picture, thinking about winning a championship."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.