Artest Backs Down

The Ron Artest vs. Rick Carlisle saga grew more bizarre Monday, with Artest missing the shoot-around, meeting with team officials and then coming up with a mysterious injury.

Artest surprised the Indiana Pacers by saying he would sit out Monday’s game against Memphis because of a sore back before backtracking and coming off the bench to score 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting in 35 minutes.

It all came after Artest was benched for the second half of a loss to New Jersey on Saturday for what Carlisle called “conduct detrimental to winning.”

“It’s over with. It’s in the past, it’s been talked about and we’re moving on,” Carlisle said.

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Forward Eddie Griffin, waived by the Houston Rockets after two turbulent years, agreed to a $450,000 contract with the New Jersey Nets for the rest of the season, the team said.

From Associated Press