Two Pacers surrender after fight charges

Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley and teammate Marquis Daniels surrendered to police early today, hours after being charged in a Feb. 6 bar fight.

Tinsley and Daniels played in the Pacers’ 136-129 double-overtime victory against Milwaukee on Wednesday night, then surrendered to police in downtown Indianapolis about 12:15 a.m., said Capt. Dave Wilkes. They were expected to appear before a judge overnight for an initial hearing at which a court date would be set.

Earlier in the day, Marion County grand jury indicted Tinsley on a felony charge of intimidation and misdemeanor counts of battery, disorderly conduct and intimidation for the fight at 8 Seconds Saloon, said Matthew Symons, spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor. Daniels was charged with battery and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

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Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith had surgery for a torn cartilage in his left knee, leaving the team without its top three-point shooter for up to four weeks. Smith, in his third NBA season, is averaging a career-high 15.4 points, third on the Nuggets behind Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. He has a team-leading 114 three-point baskets.

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The NBA All-Star game Sunday on TNT got a national Nielsen rating of 4.2, which continues a downward trend. The 2003 game in Atlanta drew a 6.6, followed by a 5.1 in 2004, a 4.9 in 2005 and a 4.3 last year. The number of viewers for Sunday’s game was 6.8 million, which, according to TNT, was the largest for any program on ad-supported cable television this year.

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-- Larry Stewart