Malice at the Palace | Picked & Rolled

The “Malice at the Palace” will go down as one of the NBA’s craziest moments. Witness pure fear as 6’7”, 260lbs Ron Artest and other oversized athletes barrel through groups of regularly sized fans.

Okay, so it wasn’t a crazy play like Vince jumping over a guy, or just pure crazy like Kobe not flinching… this was a whole series of crazy involving a bunch of crazy player and arguably crazier fans.

The Pacers-Pistons fight (conversationally known as the Malice at the Palace, was a squabble that happened in a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The Associated Press (AP) called it “the most scandalous fight in NBA history.”

Malice at the Palace Altercation

To make a long story short, with 45.9 seconds left in the game, a small skirmish broke out on the court between a few players.

After the fight was separated, the Detroit fans crossed the holy line of player and audience. The tossed a drink from the stands at Pacers player Ron Artest while he was lying on the scorer’s table.

The drink hit Artest square in the chest, covering him with beer.

At that point, Artest entered the stands and started a huge fight amongst players and fans that extended onto the court.

After the Malice at the Palace debacle, the NBA suspended nine players for an aggregate of 146 recreations, which prompted $11 million in pay being lost by the players. Five players were additionally accused of instigating a fight on fans, and in the end condemned to a time of probation and group benefit.

Five fans likewise confronted criminal accusations and were prohibited from going to Pistons home amusements forever. The fight additionally drove the NBA to build security amongst players and fans, and to restrict the offer of liquor at games.