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Suspension-hit Pacers sign two players
The Indiana Pacers signed forwards Tremaine Fowlkes and Britton Johnsen to fill gaps left by the suspensions of three players involved in a brawl at Detroit last week.
Indiana's Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the National Basketball Association season, while guard Stephen Jackson was banned for 30 games and forward Jermaine O'Neal for 25 games for their actions in melee that spilled into the stands and saw players taking swings at spectators.
League rules allow teams to replace suspended players.
Fowlkes appeared in 36 games with Detroit last season after playing 59 games with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2001-03. He has career averages of 12.4 minutes, 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Johnsen averaged a team-best 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in two games for the Idaho Stampede of the CBA. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games with the Orlando Magic last season.
Both players were in camp with the New Orleans Hornets this fall and were among the last players cut.
"Both of these guys we're bringing in have NBA experience," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "They've both been in situations where you've got to learn stuff quickly, so we'll keep things pretty simple to start with, but we're going to need them to hit the ground running and be ready to play.
"They're both probably going to be playing multiple positions, so that can also make it tricky. But I expect both of them to be into the action pretty quickly."
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