INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana Pacers forward Al Harrington has no structural damage in his sore right knee and isn't expected to miss any time.

Harrington had tests on his knee Thursday, one day after feeling pain during a victory over Phoenix.

Harrington said after the game that he thought the knee might need minor surgery to clear up some scar tissue. But a review of the tests on Friday found no such damage, the team said.

Harrington has been bothered by the knee since colliding with teammate Jermaine O'Neal before the season started. Team doctors have assured Harrington that he cannot damage the knee further by continuing to play.

Harrington, who practiced with the team Friday, is averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 rebounds.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest has torn ligaments in his left thumb that will require surgery, but an operation might not be needed until after the season.

Artest flew to New York on Monday to have the thumb examined by the doctor who repaired a similar injury when Artest was a sophomore at St. John's. Artest said Tuesday he had not seen the results, but Pacers coach Rick Carlisle confirmed that the ligaments were torn.

Carlisle said the team was still in the ``discovery phase of the injury,'' and had not determined whether Indiana's second-leading scorer will wait until after the season to have it repaired.

Artest is averaging 17.5 points a game, but has struggled with his shot since injuring the thumb against New Jersey on Jan. 17. He shot 32 percent in the four games since the injury, including a 3-for-18 performance Friday in a loss to Houston.

Artest is questionable for Wednesday night's game against Phoenix.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest missed practice Monday to fly to New York for an examination of his injured left thumb.

Artest hurt the thumb on his non-shooting hand in a game at New Jersey on Jan. 17. He has played the last four games with the thumb heavily wrapped, which has clearly affected his shooting. Artest is 20-for-62 (32 percent) since the injury.

After Friday's loss to Houston, in which Artest was 3-for-18, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he didn't ``have any doubt he was affected by the injury.''

Carlisle said after practice Monday that Artest was ``optimistic'' that the injury wasn't serious.

Carlisle was hoping that having three days off before the team's next game _ Wednesday against Phoenix _ will benefit the team's second-leading scorer.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Pacers placed forward Jonathan Bender on the injured list Friday with a sore left knee.

Bender missed the first 39 games of the season after having arthroscopic surgery on the knee in the preseason. He returned for three games, but had not dressed for the last two.

Primoz Brezec was activated to replace Bender.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Bender did not re-injure the knee and that a minor setback like this was expected during his recovery.

Forward Scot Pollard was also scratched from Friday night's game against the Houston Rockets with a severe case of the flu.

Carlisle said Pollard will not make the trip to Washington on Saturday for the Pacers' game against the Wizards.

Forgive this writer if this comes across a little bitter, but this is one Atlantan who has had enough.

First, let?s look at the facts.

Fact: Reggie Miller is a very good shooter.

Fact: Ron Artest is an extremely talented player, who is only getting better in the league.

Fact: The efforts of the two of them were the reason that the Pacers beat the Hawks on MLK day, 100-97.

Here is another fact that nobody read about in their recaps of the pretty impressive matchup between one of the best and one of the worst in the league:

Neither Miller nor Artest have a lot of class between them.

Bulls operations chief John Paxson has been gauging trade interest in Jamal Crawford, according to a league source, but no deal appears imminent.

The main reason is Paxson. He's facing his first trade deadline Feb. 19 after supplanting Jerry Krause at the end of last season, and he already has pulled the trigger on several transactions. He has traded Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall, Lonny Baxter and Roger Mason Jr. He didn't re-sign free agents Fred Hoiberg or Trenton Hassell. He bought out Dalibor Bagaric's contract and is working on a settlement with Jay Williams.

Paxson also changed coaches, and his intent is to fill Scott Skiles' roster with players who meet his and Skiles' criteria.

The problem with dealing Crawford is he's still on his rookie contract, which means the fourth-year guard is making $2.57 million. It's unlikely the Bulls could get back an impact player for that price. Then again, Rose once was considered untradeable because of his contract.

The Bulls would love to acquire a player such as Atlanta's Shareef Abdur-Rahim or Indiana's Al Harrington -- both of whom reportedly are available -- but they would have to include another contract, and there's minimal interest in the rest of the Bulls' roster. Miami's Eddie Jones also is a long shot.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A shoving match between Indiana's Al Harrington and New Orleans' George Lynch escalated into a fight Saturday night, leading to the ejections of Harrington, Lynch and New Orleans center Jamaal Magloire.

The fight broke out with 9:15 to play in the fourth quarter when Harrington was called for a foul on Lynch near the Pacers' bench. After the foul, Lynch elbowed Harrington in the jaw and Harrington responded by first shoving Lynch, then tackling him into the Pacers' bench.

A melee ensued, with several Hornets and Pacers piling into the area.

As several players, including Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, tried to break up the fight, Magloire came from across the court and dived into the pile.

O'Neal tried to restrain Magloire and pull him away, and Magloire responded by shoving O'Neal.

After an extended delay, the three ejections were announced and play resumed with Indiana leading 75-57.