NBA: Metta World Peace given one-game ban for incident with Brandon Knight
LA Lakers forward Metta World Peace has been suspended for one game following a clash with Brandon Knight on Sunday.
Last Updated: 06/02/13 8:39am
World Peace grabbed Knight around the neck and appeared to strike him in the face during the Lakers' 98-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, was infamously involved in a chaotic brawl with Detroit fans at the same arena in 2004.
He was given an 86-game suspension for his part in that incident and was also banned for seven games in April of last year following an elbow on Oklahoma City's James Harden.
The Lakers will also be without Dwight Howard when they face the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the centre still being forced to rest his sore right shoulder.
Howard was traded to the Lakers at the start of the season but his contract is up at the end of the year and speculation over his future with the franchise has already started.
He said: "I understand, you know, what the Lakers want. And I also understand that right now, there's no need for all the circus, and all the stuff that happened last year to start back up.
"I don't want it, my team doesn't need it, I don't need it, and frankly, our fans don't need it neither."
