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Last Updated: Monday, 20 December, 2004, 17:00 GMT
Season's greetings from the NBA
By Alex Trickett

Ron Artest and fan
Forget the Queen's speech. Never mind about James Bond's rematch with Jaws.

Households across America will be looking forward to much juicier viewing fare on their TV sets this Christmas Day.

Detroit travel to Indiana and the LA Lakers host Miami in the NBA and seasonal goodwill may well be in very short supply.

Cast your mind back to the end of November.

Indiana were beating the Pistons in a bad-tempered game when Ron Artest was adjudged to have fouled Detroit's Ben Wallace, who hit back with a two-handed push.

A mass brawl broke out with players coming off both benches and then Detroit supporters started throwing cups and ice.

Artest was hit in the head by a flying cup and duly burst into the crowd to punch the culprit.

Christmas Day sounds like a good day to talk to him
Kobe Bryant on Shaquille O'Neal

The fall-out from that ugly episode brought Artest a season-long ban and nine players were suspended for 143 games overall.

The teams have not played since and know that a repeat performance will have NBA Commissioner David Stern choking on his turkey and them back in the soup.

If Stern, who called the Detroit debacle "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable", is dreading their festive sequel, he may find it hard to draw comfort from the day's second game.

LA and Miami are not traditional basketball rivals.

But their first meeting since Shaquille O'Neal's move to Florida is sure to be heated.

O'Neal and Kobe Bryant parted on bad terms after a protracted power struggle at the Lakers and both will be out to prove points on 25 December.

Bryant has offered an olive branch, apologising to O'Neal for mentioning his name during a police interview last year.

He's a Corvette, I'm a brick wall - so you know what's gonna happen
Shaquille O'Neal on Kobe Bryant

"Christmas Day sounds like a good day to talk to him and tell him I never meant in any kind of way to bring any of his personal business out," said Bryant.

Whether or not O'Neal is in the mood for talking remains to be seen, but a big battle is in prospect on court.

Shaq had some advice for his old team-mate after a game on 20 December.

"If you've got a Corvette that runs into a brick wall, you know what's gonna happen," he said. "He's a Corvette. I'm a brick wall. So you know what's gonna happen..."

Watching from their homes in the hills a few miles from LA's Staples Center, Hollywood's most creative writers could not have scripted a better Christmas double-header.



Links to more US Sport stories


 

SEE ALSO
Pacers players charged over brawl
08 Dec 04 |  US Sport
Mass brawl mars NBA match
20 Nov 04 |  US Sport


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