PHILADELPHIA - Ron Artest was back in the starting lineup for the Indiana Pacers on Friday night after being benched for two games for asking for time off because of his busy schedule.

“We’ve gone through a lot the last few days, but it’s time to play basketball,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s time for our team to try and get as many healthy bodies as we can out there. We’re moving forward.”

Artest was not made available for comment before the game.

Artest’s return came at a good time for the Pacers, who have been short-handed most of the season. Center Scot Pollard (sore back), forward Jonathan Bender (viral infection), guard Fred Jones (quad strain) and center John Edwards (personal reasons) all sat out against the Sixers.

Add to that injuries to Reggie Miller (hand), Anthony Johnson (hand) and Jeff Foster (hip), and the Pacers only had eight players available to play.

“We’ve got a lot of things to deal with right now,” Carlisle said.

For now, they hope they’re done dealing with Artest’s blossoming music career.

Artest said Wednesday that he asked Carlisle for as much as a month off to heal his aching body and recover from a particularly busy schedule, which included producing an R&B album.

“My body has been aching, I was going to take some time off and I said it the wrong way,” Artest said. “Everything that happened wasn’t too negative. I kind of surprised the team by wanting to take some games off, just to get back together, maybe stay home for a little bit, rest a little bit and come back.”

Carlisle benched Artest for Tuesday’s win over Minnesota and Wednesday loss against the Clippers, saying the situation, “compromised the integrity of the team.”

On Friday, Jermaine O’Neal said the Pacers couldn’t let the situation become a distraction.

“Our biggest concern right now is finding a way to get 12 guys back on the court at the same time,” he said. “This is not big to us. What’s big to us is getting this team together so we can make a run for the championship. That’s what matters.”

When asked what he thought about Artest, O’Neal said, “He’s my teammate. Let’s leave it at that.”

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