Metta World Peace was suspended one game for punching Brandon Knight, the NBA announced today. From the league's official press release:
Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended one game without pay for grabbing Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons around the neck and striking him in the jaw, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 1:43 remaining in the 2nd period, of the Lakers' 98-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Feb. 3 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
World Peace will serve his suspension tonight when the Lakers visit the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
It's justice, I suppose, but it's still frustrating. Had the referees assessed the proper penalty at the time of the incident, World Peace would have been ejected from the game. And considering the Lakers fell apart in the second half before ultimately squeaking by with a 98-97 win, who knows how World Peace's absence might have altered things?
After the game, the artist formerly known as Ron Artest neither confirmed nor denied throwing the punch ("If he says that, he says that"), but did go out of his way to praise the undersized Knight for his physical play.
In any case, here's video of the play one more time: