The Lakers' forward Ron Artest was suspended for the third game of the series of second round of the NBA playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.
Artest was punished by the NBA for hitting in the face with his forearm Dallas baseman, JJ Barea, jumper with 24 seconds of the game Wednesday night. The third game is Friday.
Artest was ejected immediately, and the league announced Thursday that accused him of committing an intentional foul.
Los Angeles, in advance with a 0-2 deficit in the series, now have to play a crucial game without starting forward.
"There is no reaction," Artest said on Thursday in Los Angeles, before boarding a team flight to Dallas. "I'm just ready to put this behind us and play." Barea
bounced the ball near Lamar Odom, the Lakers, with 24 seconds left in a game that Artest was determined in advance when approached and raised his forearm to strike the head of the escort. Artest was ejected immediately. The league said Thursday that the absence will be considered flagrant. An accumulation of points for flagrant fouls could lead to another suspension.
"I'm not surprised," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
The Lakers lost their first two games of the series at home. Only three teams in NBA history have recovered from a similar start to win a series after winning four of seven games.
defensive presence and tenacity of Artest have become an important part of the game plan for the Lakers. Has been player starting all 90 games of the regular season and postseason for Los Angeles. In this series against Dallas, played 31 minutes in each of the first two games to average 6.5 points.
"We have a very important game tomorrow," said Artest. "There is nothing more important than the third party."
0 comments:
Post a Comment