Pistons handle Artest, Kings

Ron Artest was booed and jeered.

That sure beat his last game at The Palace of Auburn Hills, when he was hit by a thrown cup to spark one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history more than two years ago.

Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and Tayshaun Prince had 17 to lead the Detroit Pistons over Artest and the Sacramento Kings, 91-74, on Saturday night.

Artest had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists before sitting out most of the fourth quarter of a lopsided game that Sacramento never led. The Kings have lost eight of nine.

The Pistons have won two in a row, both with Chris Webber in the starting lineup, after losing eight of 11. Webber had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

To prevent a repeat of the ugly events on Nov. 19, 2004, a few arena security guards were near Sacramento’s bench in addition to the usual sight of a police officer, arena and team security.

Other than the boos almost every time Artest had the ball, fans teased him about his CD, Mohawk haircut and the black supportive sleeves that covered much of his left leg.

New York 108, Indiana 106 -- The Pacers had a chance to avoid their fourth consecutive loss in the closing seconds at Indianapolis, but Danny Granger shot an airball on a three-point attempt from the right wing. If the Pacers had made the shot, it would have been the Knicks’ third consecutive one-point loss.

Mike Dunleavy, acquired by Indiana in the trade with Golden State earlier in the week, scored all of his 14 points in the third quarter in his first game as a Pacer. Troy Murphy, who also was a part of the trade, had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Charlotte 104, Atlanta 85 -- The Bobcats shot a team-record 65% at Charlotte, N.C., their second win over the Hawks in two nights.

The Hawks played the second half without forward Josh Smith, who probably will face disciplinary action after he made obscene gestures to fans after his second-quarter ejection. Smith, upset at being called for an offensive foul late in the second quarter, quickly picked up two technical fouls and was ejected.

Washington 115, Boston 110 -- Antawn Jamison recovered from a hyperextended knee to score five of his 23 points in overtime for the Wizards, who blew a 21-point second-half lead. They won their 10th consecutive home game, setting a Verizon Center record.

New Jersey 101, Orlando 94 -- Vince Carter had 27 points at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets to their season-high fourth straight win and ninth in 11 games. They rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to reach the .500 mark (20-20) for the first time since Nov. 20.

Denver 121, Houston 113 -- Allen Iverson, who finished with 36 points, banked in a running three-pointer in overtime at Denver to rally the Nuggets, who played their final game before the return of Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets went 7-8 in the 15 games Anthony was suspended after fighting in a Dec. 16 game against New York.

Utah 95, Chicago 85 -- The win at Chicago was the third in a row for the Jazz and gave Coach Jerry Sloan his 1,011th victory, moving him ahead of Larry Brown into fourth place for career wins in the NBA. The Bulls, who had won three in a row, were hurt by poor shooting. They were 29 for 76 overall and one for 12 on three-point attempts.

Cleveland 106, Golden State 104 -- The Cavaliers’ win in overtime at Oakland spoiled the debuts of Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and Sarunas Jasikevicius, who arrived after an eight-player trade with Indiana. Jackson scored 29 points and Harrington had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Warriors played without guard Baron Davis, who was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for taking a swing at the Clippers’ Quinton Ross with 1:47 left in the Warriors’ 115-109 loss on Wednesday night.