You are correct. After re-watching it, it would have been wiser for Artest to sit on the court and calm down. even exchange verbal insults with the guy, but then stay back.
I'm not saying Artest is right, but the other Pacers were initially trying to get his arse back on the floor, and they were attacked almost immediately. And that one huge fat dude attacked Tinsley who was doing nothing to anyone.
Security didn't do much to earn its pay.
Nah, Jackson didn't go in to drag Artest back..he went in to get some.
Btw, why was Artest (initially) lying down on the scorers' table? Was he pushed on there by one of the Pistons or was it just his attempt to chill out before things got out of hand? I only saw the film clip once, but it appeared he got up off the table once he was hit by the brew (thrown by the fan) and then all hell broke loose.
Artest's foul on Ben Wallace was unnecessarily hard, especially given the score at the time, but Ben overrreacted in a big way.