On this date in 2004, the Pacers and Pistons played the first 47 minutes of a regular season game incident free. And then it happened. With 45.9 seconds left, there was an altercation between Ron Artest and Ben Wallace. Others got involved. Artest laid on the scorers table, when a fan hurled a full cup of liquid (reportedly Diet Coke) onto him. That led to players entering the stands. The aftermath produced some significant results.
**Nine players were suspended for a total of 146 games. Artest was suspended for the remaining 73 regular season games and the postseason, which was an additional 13 games. It was the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.
**About $11 million in total salary was forfeited, $5 million by Artest. Other players that received fines of more than $1 million were Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal.
**Five Pacers players (Artest, Jackson, O’Neal, David Harrison and Anthony Johnson) faced legal charges and they all pleaded no contest. Four received probation and all were sentenced to community service.
**Within 3 months, the NBA adopted new rules regarding security personnel, ordering at least three guards between players and fans. The league also limited the sizes and quantity of alcohol purchases by fans, in addition to banning alcohol sales after the third quarter.
These are things you may have known about the incident. Here are some things you may not have known:
**Tim Donaghy, who was investigated by the FBI and pleaded guilty to federal charges related to point-spread manipulation, one was of the referees for the game.
**After Artest got hit with the cup of liquid, he trampled over the Pacers radio team on his way into the stands. Mark Boyle, the play-by-play man, broke 5 vertebrae.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.