Jermaine O’Neal believes a former referee should have been more active in keeping the Pacers and Pistons at bay.
The Indiana Pacers once again find themselves in a contending position. The franchise’s ability to rebuild itself after its star players leave has been remarkable.
Prior to this version of the Pacers, their last team to be a regular Eastern Conference threat was the Paul George-led teams in the early 2010s.
George would lead the Pacers to multiple series wins, only to be vanquished by LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
And before them were the Indiana Pacers of the early 2000s. Their run came to an end after the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl in 2004.
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Jermaine O’Neal blames disgraced referee for Malice at the Palace
While appearing on the Out The Mud podcast, Indiana Pacers legend Jermaine O’Neal spoke about the infamous Malice at the Palace incident.
He believes Tim Donaghy, the disgraced former NBA referee who got caught in a betting scandal, was to blame for not keeping things calm between the Pacers and Pistons, which led to the massive brawl.
“The ref who was fixing games [Donaghy] did that game. When Ben [Wallace] gets into it with Ron [Artest], it’s almost like a five-minute time-lapse.”
“These refs stepped back. Ben had all these bands, he just started throwing them. Now in the crowd, they’re like ‘Oh yeah, let me get into it.’”
“Ron actually does his job and goes and lays down on the [scorer’s table]. Ben throws the last band. That’s when the cup came. We all thought Ben ignited it. Ben thought he was going to be suspended.”
“It was unfortunate because it was on national television. You had the refs that didn’t even separate the teams. The teams were trying to separate each other, which is crazy to think.”
“A five-minute lapse in real time, you got players going back and forth, yelling, coming down. That never happens. They clean that up so fast. You see the refs sitting there and they’re not really trying to engage…”
Read More: What Michael Jordan did after Malice At The Palace proved to Ron Artest who he really was
Pacers ready to make better history
The Malice at the Palace incident was a dark chapter in both the Indiana Pacers’ and the NBA’s history. But luckily, tonight, they have a chance to make some good memories.
The Pacers host the New York Knicks for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If they win, they will be going to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Pacers’ fanbase has been waiting for a team that can reach the NBA Finals once again. And it feels like they finally have that.
But the Knicks have shown a lot of fire, especially in Game 5. The Pacers must be at their clinical best to advance to the NBA Finals.