PORTLAND, Ore. — Amar’e Stoudemire said the NBA should discipline the Lakers’ Ron Artest for his dirty play Sunday night in Los Angeles that included his flagrant foul when he brought down the Knicks superstar by his neck on a drive.
Artest also tried to get under Shawne Williams’ skin, knocking him in the neck; Williams went right back at him in what was a chippy game at Staples Center, won by the Lakers.
Artest received a technical foul. The NBA reviews all flagrants.
“I think the league should look at that,” Stoudemire said after practice at Portland’s Rose Garden. “He put his hand around Shawne’s neck and also the foul on me when he put his forearm around my neck. Those are two plays that are not basketball plays and I think the NBA is going to do a great job of responding to that and see what happens.”
Regarding the rough play, Stoudemire said, “They started it and there’s no back down in us.”
Indeed, beyond the winning, the Knicks, who face the Blazers on Tuesday night, have become a much tougher club on the court this season, a trait that has Mike D’Antoni thrilled.
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Stoudemire will again appear on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on Thursday after the Knicks return from their road trip.
Stoudemire read a Top 10 list during preseason and after the appearance was given an invitation to talk to Letterman as a guest.