Carlisle Upset After Loss

Indiana Coach Rick Carlisle ripped Ron Artest and the Pacers after an 82-75 loss to the New Jersey Nets on Saturday at Indianapolis, calling the Pacers an immature team who stole money from the paying customers.

“We’re young and we’re immature,” Carlisle said after he was ejected during the game. “And we don’t understand what we’ve got sitting right here in our hands. We’re unwilling to reach out and grab it.”

Jason Kidd of the Nets had 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for his NBA-leading sixth triple-double of the season and second in a row, but Carlisle blamed the loss on his team’s lack of effort and leadership.

Artest played uninspired in the first half and argued with Carlisle on the bench and in the locker room, prompting Carlisle to bench him for the second half.

“Ron Artest did not play in the second half for conduct detrimental to winning,” Carlisle said. “Part of it occurred on the court, part of it occurred at halftime.

“As a coach, there’s times where you’ve got to make a stand and there’s times when the soul of the team is more important than one guy’s particular agenda.

“I’ve lived here too long, I know how these people in this state and this city feel about this game, and to watch one guy ... compromise what the game’s all about is gut-wrenching and unacceptable. I will not accept it.”

Artest fired back, criticizing Carlisle’s offensive system.

“He calls all the plays. It’s not easy to play in a set every time,” Artest said. “If they don’t want me to play here, I can go play somewhere else.”

Minnesota 104, Seattle 86 -- Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 14 rebounds and Trenton Hassell shut down Ray Allen at Seattle.

Allen had 15 points but made only five of 22 shots from the field against Hassell, who has emerged as Minnesota’s defensive stopper after being waived by Chicago on Oct. 23.

Allen scored 24 points in 23 minutes Tuesday in his first game for Seattle after sitting out the first 25 games after right ankle surgery.

Chicago 100, Washington 86 -- Jamal Crawford made five three-point shots and scored a career-high 42 points for the Bulls at Chicago.

Coming off a 30-point performance at Cleveland on Friday, Crawford outdid himself. He made 16 of 27 shots from the field, including five of seven from three-point range.

The Wizards have lost four in a row and 12 of 15.

Dallas 104, Memphis 98 -- Michael Finley scored 24 points, including a key three-pointer and another long jumper in the closing minutes, and Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and 17 rebounds at Dallas.

The Grizzlies got a scare when 70-year-old Coach Hubie Brown needed medical attention during a timeout with 4 minutes 51 seconds left.

He recovered quickly and remained on the bench the rest of the game.

New York 100, Miami 80 -- Keith Van Horn scored 28 points at Miami and point guard Frank Williams moved into the starting lineup, helping the Knicks to their most lopsided victory this season.

Williams, a second-year guard making his first NBA start, had 14 points. Miami activated forward Samaki Walker before the game.

Detroit 87, Atlanta 84 -- Ben Wallace made two late free throws -- his first points of the game -- and had a block on the next possession to help the Pistons win at Atlanta.

Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and Bob Sura had a season-high 13 for the Pistons, who ended a two-game losing streak.

Sura was the 24th player this season to get his highest point total against Atlanta.