Indiana Pacers Team Report - November 21

(Basketball News) - The undermanned Indiana Pacers found themselves on the losing end of an 86-83 decision against the Orlando Magic on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Fred Jones poured in a career-high 31 points for the Pacers, who dressed the league minimum eight players, but played only six due to injuries to Jamaal Tinsley and Scot Pollard.

David Harrison had 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Earlier in the day, the NBA suspended Indiana’s Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal indefinitely for their parts in Friday night’s fight between the Pacers and Pistons. Indiana won the game 97-82 before it was called. Detroit’s Ben Wallace was also suspended indefinitely by the league.

The suspensions stemmed from an incident that occurred with 45 seconds left as Wallace was fouled by Artest and the Pistons center took exception to what he deemed a hard foul and gave Artest a two-handed push to the face.

After that, the fighting continued by the scorer’s table as players came off both benches to continue the melee on the court. The Detroit fans then lost control and began throwing cups filled with liquid and ice at Artest, who was surprisingly staying out of harm’s way on top of the table. Artest was hit in the head with a flying cup and immediately raced into the stands where he started punching whom he thought was the culprit.

Jackson and O’Neal were also involved in fights, both on the court and in the stands, before finally being escorted to the locker room. O’Neal apparently knocked an onrushing fan out cold and charges could be pressed against the All-Star.

Jones also got into an altercation in the stands as a fan was punching the back of his head while he was in the middle of a scuffle.

Indiana will return to action on Tuesday against Boston.