By Larry Fleisher
The former St. John's standout out of Queensbridge returned to the scene of the crime, playing his first game at the Palace at Auburn Hills since he ran into the stands Nov. 19, 2004 to fight a Pistons fan who threw a cup of beer on him in the wild brawl that has become the defining moment of his career and cost him a 73-game suspension. Artest, now with the Sacramento Kings and sporting a Mohawk, was booed lustily when his name was introduced to the crowd, some of whom were in attendance that infamous night. Artest had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists before sitting out most of the fourth quarter of a blowout win for the Pistons. “It was fine coming back,” Artest said. “It was just another game.” Five days before his highly-anticpated return to Motown, Artest was back home, back at Madison Square Garden as the Kings took on the Knicks. Artest has always been linked with the Knicks, since they chose French center Fredric Weis instead of him with the 15th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. “I always said I did (want to play for the Knicks) but it just didn't work out that way,” Artest said after scoring 12 points in a 102-97 loss Jan. 15 at MSG. “It's not anything to get down about. You always wish you could play for your home team but it doesn't always work out that way. It's always good to come back and play here though.” Yet, the rumors persist that Artest may get shipped back home, rumors he attempts to squash. “I don't want to get traded,” said Artest, who is averaging 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. “I'm under contract right now with the Kings and I like Sacramento.” And Sacramento coach Eric Musselman liked Artest, too. “Ron's had a great year,” Musselman said. “He defends every night, he's done a great job rebounding the ball and obviously scoring.”
