Artest Gets a Flagrant Foul Fast

It took only a few moments for Ron Artest to get himself in trouble again. It’ll probably be much longer before he plays again.

Artest committed his eighth flagrant foul this season five seconds after tipoff, then scored 18 points and the Indiana Pacers cruised to a 102-72 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at Indianapolis.

Artest faces a two-game suspension, although he again insisted he wouldn’t change the aggressive way he plays.

“As long as I don’t hurt nobody, I’m happy,” Artest said.

The Pacers won for only the third time in their last 16 games. They finished the season series against Boston tied, 2-2, and moved within one game of second place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston’s Paul Pierce went up for a layup after the opening tip and was slapped hard on the head from behind by Artest.

Artest has been suspended twice already for exceeding the maximum number of flagrant foul points. If the league doesn’t rescind the foul, he will sit out Friday’s game against Memphis and Saturday’s against Atlanta.

The Pacers are 4-7 without Artest in the lineup. He sat out one game because of an injury.

Coach Isiah Thomas said Artest’s pattern of erratic behavior continues to be noticed by the officials. Thomas said Artest receives extra scrutiny because of his past actions.

“Clearly, he’s a player that people pay attention to and referees will pay attention to also,” Thomas said. “It’s going to be like this for a while. That’s something we’re going to have to adjust to.”

Portland 94, Houston 83 -- Derek Anderson had 21 points and seven assists to help lift the host Trail Blazers, who have won five of seven.

Houston remained tied with Phoenix for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Utah 99, Phoenix 86 -- Karl Malone scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half at Phoenix to lead the Jazz, which won its second in a row and pulled into a tie with the idle Lakers for sixth place in the West.

New Orleans 101, New York 96 -- Jamal Mashburn scored 25 points and Baron Davis scored 23 at New Orleans in his first start in nearly two months for the Hornets.

The Hornets moved ahead of Boston and into fifth in the East, and New York dropped three games behind eighth-place Milwaukee.

Milwaukee 104, New Jersey 85 -- Rookie Marcus Haislip scored six of his 12 points in a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter at East Rutherford, N.J., that put the Bucks in control and helped them end a four-game skid.

Gary Payton scored 23 points and Sam Cassell had 22 for the Bucks, who held the Nets to 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Memphis 128, Cleveland 101 -- Pau Gasol scored 28 points and Jason Williams had 16 points and 16 assists at Memphis, and the Grizzlies won for the seventh time in eight games.

Memphis shot 61% from the field. The Grizzlies had a 23-2 run late in the first quarter, including 15 consecutive points for an 18-point lead after one quarter.

Orlando 109, Miami 93 -- Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 36 points in the second half for the host Magic, which finished with 12 three-point baskets.

Miami lost its fourth in a row and seventh of eight.

Toronto 87, Atlanta 86 -- Vince Carter made two free throws with 3.7 seconds left at Toronto to finish with 27 points and the Raptors ended a six-game losing streak.

Golden State 105, Seattle 99 -- Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Jason Richardson scored 25 points at Oakland to help the Warriors defeat the SuperSonics for the second time in five days.