Indiana’s Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, forcing an early and ugly end to the Pacers’ 97-82 win.

The game was stopped with 45.9 seconds remaining when a pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands after fans began throwing things at the players near the scorer’s table.

“It’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen as a coach or player,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said.

After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, the Pacers were pelted with beer, ice, and popcorn as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.

The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.

It all started when Detroit’s Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest.

Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.

As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest lay on his back on the scorer’s table.

Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a cup thrown from the stands. He jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the melee. A Pistons player came running into the crowd.

Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace and Indiana’s David Harrison were also in or near the stands.

As the crowd roared, drinks and debris showered the court and the Pacers players covered their heads as they hustled through the runway leading to the locker room.

If ABC hoped to generate a little bit more buzz for �Monday Night Football� and �Desperate Housewives,� its steamy intro to the Dallas-Philadelphia game sure did the trick.

Two days after the network aired the segment featuring Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens and actress Nicollette Sheridan, coaches and players were still talking about it.

Reaction ranged from amusement to anger. Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy found it racially offensive.

�To me that�s the first thing I thought of as an African-American,� Dungy said Wednesday.

�I think it�s stereotypical in looking at the players, and on the heels of the Kobe Bryant incident I think it�s very insensitive. I don�t think that they would have had Bill Parcells or Andy Reid or one of the owners involved in that,� he added, a reference to the coaches in the game.

ABC�s intro showed Sheridan wearing only a towel and provocatively asking Owens to skip the game for her as the two stood alone in a locker room. She drops the towel and jumps into Owens� arms. Owens is black and Sheridan is white.

�If that�s what we have to do to get ratings, I�d rather not get them,� Dungy said. �I realize that ratings pays us in this league, but if that�s what we have to do, I�m willing to take a pay cut.�

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb wasn�t quite as vocal, saying he didn�t find the segment offensive and believed people were overreacting. (Owens wasn�t at practice Wednesday, excused for what the team said were personal reasons.)

�Some people do different things,� McNabb said. �Not saying that my wife would allow me to do that, but it�s just something that was done, and you move on.�

Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, had a different view, questioning ABC�s judgment in airing the scene.

�I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud,� he said.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. The FCC will review complaints and decide whether or not to open an investigation that could result in a fine against the network.

�It would seem to me that while we get a lot of broadcasting companies complaining about indecency enforcement, they seem to be continuing to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gains and the free advertising it provides,� Powell told CNBC.

The segment drew complaints from viewers and the NFL. ABC Sports apologized for using the introduction to promote its show, �Desperate Housewives.� Dungy�s comment, however, was the first that mentioned race. He also said the segment played off stereotypes of athletes.

�That athletes are sexual predators and that that stuff is more important than what�s going on on the field. That a guy was more concerned with that than the game, that�s a terrible message to send,� Dungy said. �I�m particularly sensitive to that. It could have been any player and I would have been outraged, but being an African-American, it particularly hurt me.�

A decade ago Dungy was outspoken about the lack of black coaches in the NFL. There are currently five, including Dungy and Lovie Smith, whose Bears will face Dungy�s Colts on Sunday.

�I thought it was in bad taste also,� Smith said. �You could say that it was pretty close to pornographic, so any time that happens on prime time, something is wrong.�

But Smith didn�t find it racially offensive.

�I really can�t go that far,� he said. �I saw a naked lady with an athlete, period. Black, white, that doesn�t really matter an awful lot to me.�

Dungy said ABC had asked the Colts, who played on Monday night last week, �to do some things I thought would make our players look a little bit silly (although) nothing like that.�

�We kind of declined,� he said.

Some players were also shocked.

�My mouth dropped when I saw that,� said Washington tight end Mike Sellers, who was watching the game with his wife. �I said, �Did they actually plan this on TV?��

But at least one of his teammates wasn�t bothered.

�I thought it was kind of cool, myself,� linebacker Marcus Washington said. �I enjoyed the skit.�