O'Neal originally received a 25-game ban for his part in a wild melee during a game in Auburn Hills on 19 November.

An arbitrator reduced it to 15 games last week and US District Judge George B. Daniels upheld that decision three hours before Thursday's game.

O'Neal's haul helped the Pacers to a 96-83 win over the New Jersey Nets.

Vince Carter scored 25 points on his Nets debut and had several dunks that delighted the first sell-out crowd of the season in New Jersey.

Jeff Foster added 16 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who also got 17 points off the bench from Austin Croshere.

The NBA argued that arbitrator Roger Kaplan had no jurisdiction to reduce the suspension.

But, following a second hearing on 30 December, Judge Daniels backed Kaplan's decision.

While O'Neal's suspension was cut, Kaplan upheld NBA commissioner David Stern's 73-game ban for Ron Artest and 30-game ban for Stephen Jackson.

The brawl began when Artest was adjudged to have fouled Detroit's Ben Wallace, who retaliated with a two-handed push to Artest's face.

Further fighting by the scorers' table followed as players came off both benches. Detroit fans then got involved, throwing cups and ice at the Indiana players.

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