5 of the weirdest NBA games ever played

#2 Malice in the Palace, November 19th, 2004

The hard fouls endured back in the day are today’s flagrant fouls. Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) of the Indiana Pacers, with the reputation of a hardman, fouled yet another tough defensive player, Ben Wallace on his way to the basket.

In retaliation, Wallace gave the wild Artest a hard push, (I hope you notice no blows or elbows, yet). The events that transpired made this a memorable game in NBA history, playing a role in developing the league’s no-nonsense attitude towards violence.

As the referees were trying to take charge of the situation, a fan threw a paper cup and hit Ron’s face as he was lying on the scorer’s table. The moment a second bottle hit him in the face, all hell broke loose. Artest went after the fan in the stands and started punching him. Other Pistons fans joined the fight forcing Pacers to engage in the subsequent brawl as well. The would’ve-been blow-out game was called off as a result.