Ron Artest controlled his temper after losing a tooth following a hard collision with Derrick Coleman, and then coolly sank a pair a free throws.

One of the NBA's most excitable players is behaving himself these days, and the Indiana Pacers are reaping the benefits.

``Tonight is an indication of the new and improved Ron,'' teammate Reggie Miller said.

Artest scored 30 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers to their fifth straight win, an 85-74 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.

``I'm just having fun,'' Artest said.

Artest led the league in flagrant-foul points last season and missed 12 games because of suspensions. This year, Artest has had no flagrants or technicals called on him _ so far.

``A couple of things were blown out of proportion,'' Artest said. ``I'm just here to play basketball.''

In other games, it was: Detroit 98, New Jersey 84; Atlanta 91, Seattle 81; Boston 91, Sacramento 82; and Toronto 89, Denver 76.

The Pacers are 4-0 in road games this season, their best start in the NBA. The 1971-72 Pacers started that ABA season 7-0 away from home.

Late in the fourth, Artest drove down the baseline from the left side with his left arm fully extended when Coleman collided with him under the basket.

Artest crashed to the floor, holding his face and was down for a few minutes. He lost a tooth and had a swollen lip but instead of retaliating against Coleman, Artest made two free throws for a 71-66 lead.

``I think last year's Ron would have probably took out a couple of fans in the front row,'' Miller said.

Later, he hit another 3-pointer for an 80-70 lead and the Pacers cruised from there.

Jermaine O'Neal added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, whose 13-point first-quarter lead turned into a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.

But Artest and O'Neal led the Pacers on an 18-4 run.

Allen Iverson scored 37 points for the Sixers on 15-for-30 shooting, but had little offensive help.

``Once we got the lead, we kind of relaxed a little bit,'' Iverson said. ``We didn't keep fighting. We didn't try to finish the game.''