Metta World Peace needed to win a championship ring so his career wasn't defined only by one angry moment in Detroit.Before he could get it with the Los Angeles Lakers, though, World Peace had to heal his mind. The therapy had to come first if the former Ron Artest was to make it to Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics."I would not have been able to deal with the adversity. I would have been ejected," World Peace said about the therapy that finally helped lift him out of the dark places he always seemed to frequent. "I would have probably gotten into a fight or done something stupid. I don't think the old Ron Artest would have been ready for that final."The old Ron Artest, of course, was best known for going into the stands in 2004 in Detroit to battle fans in what became known as "Malice at the Palace." He was a hard-nosed defensive specialist who brought playground grudges from the housing projects in Queens onto the court, often with bad consequences.The new World... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — A new documentary about Ron Artest includes an extensive retrospective about the brawl with fans the former NBA star triggered at a game in Detroit.The footage of the melee between Indiana Pacers players and Pistons fans that became known as the Malice at the Palace is one of the highlights of "Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story," which debuts on Showtime on May 31.Artest charged into the stands after a fan threw a drink on him during the game on Nov. 19, 2004, at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Artest was eventually suspended for the remainder of that season for his role in one of the darkest moments in league history.But he later became a leader on a Lakers team that won a championship in 2010 and was even given the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, an honor presented by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, for his work in promoting mental health awareness.The documentary features interviews with Artest, later known as Metta World Peace, along with former teammates such as Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lakers teammates Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul of the Rockets were suspended without pay Sunday for an on-court fight, with Paul taking the heaviest financial hit.Ingram was suspended four games, Rondo will sit out three games and Paul two games. The NBA handed down the punishments a day after the incident in the fourth quarter at Staples Center.The penalty was costliest to Paul, who has the highest salary of the trio and was fined a total of $491,782. Paul is president of the NBA Players' Association. He began serving his suspension Sunday night and wasn't at the arena when the Rockets lost to the Clippers 115-112. Rondo will be docked a total of $186,207, while Ingram's total is $158,816.Houston coach Mike D'Antoni disagreed with the severity of Paul's penalty."It's just not equitable," he said. "If you wanted to suspend him one (game) I get it, just to make a statement. Then you're talking monetarily, he's paying three times more than the other guys... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lakers teammates Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul of the Rockets were suspended without pay Sunday for an on-court fight, with Paul taking the heaviest financial hit.Ingram was suspended four games, Rondo will sit out three games and Paul two games. The NBA handed down the punishments a day after the incident in the fourth quarter at Staples Center.The penalty was costliest to Paul, who was fined a total of $491,782. Paul is president of the NBA Players' Association. He began serving his suspension Sunday night and wasn't at the arena when the Rockets played the Clippers. Rondo will be docked a total of $186,207, while Ingram's total is $158,816.Houston coach Mike D'Antoni disagreed with the severity of Paul's penalty."It's just not equitable," he said. "If you wanted to suspend him one (game) I get it, just to make a statement. Then you're talking monetarily, he's paying three times more than the other guys are paying for missing games? That doesn't seem... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lakers teammates Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul of the Rockets were suspended without pay Sunday for an on-court fight.Ingram was suspended four games, Rondo will sit out three games and Paul two games. The NBA handed down the punishments a day after the incident in the fourth quarter at Staples Center.The incident is costliest to Paul, who will be fined a total of $491,782. Paul is president of the NBA Players' Association. He began serving the suspension Sunday night when the Clippers played the Rockets.Rondo will be fined a total of $186,207, while Ingram's total is $158,816.Ingram and Rondo will start their suspensions Monday night when the Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs.The league said Ingram was suspended for aggressively escalating the altercation and throwing a punch in the direction of Paul, confronting referee Jason Phillips in a hostile manner, and instigating the overall incident by shoving Rockets guard James Harden.Rondo has been suspended... [More]

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks, behind center Dwight Howard's 53rd double-double, secured fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 103-76 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.Howard scored 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Hawks extended their winning streak to four games.It was the first time in four tries that Atlanta defeated Charlotte, and the result guaranteed the Hawks would finish fifth and open the playoffs against the fourth-place Washington Wizards.The Hawks also received 10 points and seven rebounds from Paul Millsap and 10 points from Ersan Ilyasova. Atlanta rested its regulars in the fourth quarter, but every active player scored.Thunder 100, Timberwolves 98MINNEAPOLIS -- Victor Oladipo scored 20 points, including the game-winning jumper with six seconds left, as Oklahoma City held off Minnesota.Domantas Sabonis had 19 points as six players scored in double figures for the short-handed Thunder, who were without star guard Russell Westbrook... [More]

F Metta World Peace, in possibly his last home game, scored a club-high 18 points, all in the second half, and the Lakers beat the Pelicans on Tuesday night. "It was a great feeling," said World Peace, who also had four steals. "I've had a long career, and for that to end at the top -- All-Star, sixth in MVP voting one year, would've won it the year I got suspended, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive first team, al-third team, All-NBA, everything -- but this is the best feeling."

The Los Angeles Lakers re-signed forward Metta World Peace, the team announced Friday.Terms of the contract were not released, but World Peace said earlier that he agreed to a one-year deal.After playing in China in the 2014-15 season, World Peace returned to the NBA last year with Los Angeles. He played in 35 games and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds for the Lakers.Prior to that, World Peace played 29 games for the New York Knicks in 2013-14. He spent five seasons with the Lakers from 2009 until 2013, winning a championship in 2009-10.The 36-year-old World Peace is one-time All-Star (2004) with career averages of 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals over 966 games in 16 seasons.World Peace is expected to provide leadership for a young Lakers squad. He is a former teammate of first-year Lakers head coach Luke Walton.

F Metta World Peace came off the bench to score 12 points Monday.

F Metta World Peace led the Lakers with 17 points Tuesday.

F Metta World Peace, who managed just two points in 13 minutes, was ejected with 10:45 left in the contest after receiving a pair of technical fouls for arguing.

F Metta World Peace ranks fifth among active players in career steals (trailing only Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Chris Paul) and is ranked 22nd in NBA history.

F Metta World Peace, C Tarik Black and G Marcelo Huertas had their contracts guaranteed by the Lakers through the end of the season.

F Metta World Peace made his third start of the season for the resting Kobe Bryant on Monday. He scotred 12 points.

F Metta World Peace had nine points in the first two quarters for the Lakers. He opened the game by hitting his seventh consecutive 3-pointer.

F Metta World Peace, who got his second start in place of F Kobe Bryant, came into the game shooting 77.8 percent from 3-point range (7 of 9), best in the NBA.

F Metta World Peace scored 14 points while starting in place of F Kobe Bryant (back) on Tuesday in Miami.

World Peace (strained left calf) returned to practice Saturday, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

World Peace's return to practice suggests the injury he sustained during Friday's session is unlikely to hamper him going forward. The small forward could be available for Sunday's preseason opener.

World Peace sat out practice Friday with a calf injury.

There's no indication that the calf injury suffered by World Peace is serious in nature, but it wouldn't be surprising if the veteran sits out a day or two to ensure no long-term injury develops.

World Peace will sign a one-year deal to return to the Lakers, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.

A possible deal between the Lakers and the forward formerly known as Ron Artest has been the subject of rumors throughout the month of September, and Thursday's report now confirms that World Peace will return to Los Angeles, where he won an NBA title in 2009-10. World Peace last played in the NBA in 2013-14, logging 29 games and averaging just 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds for the Knicks. He spent last season overseas, playing a total of 28 games for two Chinese club teams while adopting the moniker "The Panda's Friend." At this point, it appears he'll stick with "Metta World Peace" for the upcoming season but, of course, that's always subject to change. As far as his fit with the Lakers, World Peace, at age 35, is not likely to be a major contributor, and at this point it's unclear whether his contract is fully guaranteed.