Richard Jefferson is not the only one facing the music over accusations of leaving the bench during his team's first game of the 2004 Playoffs.  Ron Artest, pivitol in the Indiana Pacer's Game 1 victory over Boston, now faces the same fate.  The league found Jefferson to be innocent, but how about Artest?

The way Ron Artest understands it, he's been cleared to play in the Indiana Pacers' second playoff game on Tuesday.

The way the NBA sees it won't be known until today.

Artest's status for Game 2 against Boston is in doubt because he briefly left the Pacers' bench during a mid-court confrontation involving teammate Jermaine O'Neal in Saturday's opening playoff game. League rules allow for a one-game suspension in such instances.

Artest told reporters following Sunday's practice at Conseco Fieldhouse he had received a call from a league official that morning and had been cleared to play.

"I spoke to the league and I'm not going to be suspended," he said.

Artest, however, had spoken to a deputy from the NBA's security department who was gathering information. Stu Jackson, the senior vice president of basketball operations, will rule on Artest's status today.

"The guys who interview (players) have nothing to do with the decision," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

After O'Neal was grabbed by his upper arms by Boston rookie Brandon Hunter then thrown to the court as they awaited a possible rebound O'Neal got up and charged after Hunter, shouting in his ear. Celtics guard Ricky Davis stepped between them and said something to O'Neal, who shouted at Davis and slapped his arm away, drawing a technical foul.  Artest got up from his seat on the bench, took a few steps onto the court as O'Neal's confrontation became more heated, then quickly retreated - something coach Rick Carlisle hopes will be taken into consideration.

"If it's judged on intent, he won't be suspended," Carlisle said. "If it's judged technically, he will. Frankly, neither decision would surprise me."

Carlisle believes Hunter also should come under review for grabbing and pulling O'Neal to the court.

"If they're going to deem this situation as a suspendable offense for one of our All-Star players, they've got to take a hard look at what Hunter did and that's got to be dealt with a severity commensurate to what they're going to do with our guy," Carlisle said.

Carlisle suggested Saturday that Hunter had been put into the game by Carroll to bait O'Neal. He still questioned their motives on Sunday.

"He's a good kid from everything I've heard," Carlisle said of Hunter, a rookie from Ohio University. "He plays hard. But I have never, ever seen him grab a guy and throw a guy on the floor. When you see a player act out of character like that, it gets your attention."

Carroll reacted angrily to the insinuation he had instructed Hunter to cause an incident.

"Rick's entitled to his opinion, but I would never, ever, ever ruin the integrity of the game to be able to win a game," Carroll told the Boston Herald on Sunday. "I would never send anybody in to hurt anybody on purpose."