Nuggets, Knicks in wild brawl near end of game Options

[RME JICO]

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA has another ugly scene to recover from. This one involved its leading scorer and happened in its most famous arena.

Denver's Carmelo Anthony and the other nine players on the court at the time were ejected for fighting during a wild brawl between the Nuggets and Knicks, triggered in part by a New York team that felt it was being shown up on its home floor.

Multiple players, including Anthony, threw punches, and New York's Nate Robinson and Denver's J.R. Smith -- fouled hard by Mardy Collins on the play that started the brawl -- flew into the first row of the crowd while fighting during the NBA's scariest scene since Indiana players fought with Detroit fans in 2004.

Smith had a red mark along the left side of his face, but there were no other injuries among the players. No fans were directly involved, even after the fighting spilled into the seats.

According to the Knicks, the whole thing happened because the Nuggets still had their starters on the floor with 1:15 left and a 19-point lead. Denver won 123-100.

"They just wanted to embarrass us," Robinson said. "It was a slap in the face to us. As a team, as a franchise, we weren't going to let that happen. A clean, hard foul happened and after that it went down from there."

The foul wasn't clean at all. Collins grabbed Smith around the neck as he was going in for a breakaway layup. Anthony and Robinson quickly jumped in, and the melee went from one end of the court all the way to the other.

Anthony threw a punch at Collins, and now awaits what will surely be strong punishment from a league still trying to repair its image after the melee in Auburn Hills, Mich.

"Something's going to happen, but we shall see and wait," Anthony said. "I don't really want to comment on that right now."

The NBA didn't, either. Spokesman Tim Frank said the league would "review the incident in its entirety. Until then, it would not be appropriate to comment."

But the players can expect a harsh penalty with the brawl happening at Madison Square Garden, right in the hometown of NBA headquarters.

"I feel bad for the league, I feel bad for the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Very poor display of respecting basketball and respecting the game in the best place in the world to play basketball."

There had previously been some bad blood between Karl and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas over the handling of the Larry Brown firing. Karl and Brown are close friends.

But Karl wouldn't talk about why he had his starters on the floor late in a blowout, in the closing minutes of a back-to-back that closed a five-game road trip.

Thomas said he even told Anthony that he never should have been in the game at the time.

"I just said to him, 'You know, you're up 20, you're up 19 with a minute and half to go, you and (Marcus) Camby really shouldn't be in the game right now,"' Thomas said. "We had surrendered, those guys shouldn't even be in the game at that point in time."

After the hard foul by Collins, Smith got up and jawed with Collins and Robinson jumped in to yell at Smith -- who had thrown down a reverse dunk on a fast break minutes earlier.

"They were having their way with us," Thomas said. "I think J.R. Smith had just made one dunk when he reversed and spun in the air. And I think Mardy didn't want our home crowd to see that again. So he fouled him."

Anthony rushed in and pushed Robinson in the neck, triggering the roughest moment, when Robinson and Smith went flying into the stands while fighting with each other. Anthony then threw his punch at Collins, then backed away toward the center of the court.

New York's Jared Jeffries ran from the baseline toward Anthony, but was tackled by a Denver player. The brawl stretched to the other end of the court toward the Nuggets' bench before coaches and security finally pulled Smith away and restored order.

Smith was yelling as he was escorted back to the locker room, unsure why Collins fouled him as hard as he did.

"I don't even know," Smith said. "That's the first time I ever seen the dude."

Camby, Andre Miller, Eduardo Najera, Smith and Anthony were the Nuggets who were ejected; Channing Frye, David Lee, Collins, Robinson and Jeffries were the Knicks who were kicked out.

"Clearly this isn't how we or the NBA wants to be perceived," Thomas said. "It should have been a foul and the guy takes two free throws and maybe some words, but it shouldn't have escalated. This isn't even a rivalry."

Highlights of the fight were on in NBA locker rooms around the league, and players stopped buttoning their shirts or paused mid-sentence during interviews to see what happened.

Looks like NY and DEN are going to have several suspended players. NY losing streak = better draft pick for the Bulls. Otherwise, there is nothing good about this. Too many thugs in the game nowadays. Just play the game.

[Goldmember]

melo is friggin pussy. throwing a punch and running like a lil girl. robinson is a friggin punk, too.

guess what ny, if you don't want to be embarassed, PLAY BETTER!!!

[madisonsmadhouse]

You want to see why JR Smith would have never worked in Chicago, watch the tape of this brawl. The kid is an idiot.

[SoxFan1]

You want to see why JR Smith would have never worked in Chicago, watch the tape of this brawl. The kid is an idiot.

I was just about to say that. There is no way Smith's attitude would have made it on the Bulls. He would have had a field day with the media and he would have made the clubhouse a living hell when the team was struggling to start the season.

This is still a smart move to me.

[nocionipipe]

I was just about to say that. There is no way Smith's attitude would have made it on the Bulls. He would have had a field day with the media and he would have made the clubhouse a living hell when the team was struggling to start the season.

This is still a smart move to me.

I agree with you, there's no way he fits in with this team. I'm still irked that they gave him up for essentially nothing. And I was pissed when it happened, not just since he's played well in Denver.

[Balta1701-B]

You want to see why JR Smith would have never worked in Chicago, watch the tape of this brawl. The kid is an idiot.

JR Smith did have a right to get up and go after Robinson, but that doesn't mean he should have done it. Because JR Smith didn't just take the foul, get up, and watch Robinson and Isiah get suspended for a bunch of games, he starts a brawl that is going to wind up with a bunch of players on his team out and Melo getting 10 or more games.

In his post-game interview, he was saying that all he cared about was that they won the game. You think Missing Melo will help them win more games? Or anyone who left the bench?

[DrunkBomber]

If they suspend Isiah they might have a real coach and play better.

[madisonsmadhouse]

JR Smith did have a right to get up and go after Robinson, but that doesn't mean he should have done it. Because JR Smith didn't just take the foul, get up, and watch Robinson and Isiah get suspended for a bunch of games, he starts a brawl that is going to wind up with a bunch of players on his team out and Melo getting 10 or more games.

In his post-game interview, he was saying that all he cared about was that they won the game. You think Missing Melo will help them win more games? Or anyone who left the bench?

I don't know about a "right" to go after someone, but all I know is that the kid didn't have sense enough to realize why in that particular game siutation he was getting fouled hard... The Nuggets were up by 20 with barely anytime left in the game and still had their starters on the floor. They were running up the score, and a hard foul isn't a big surprise at that point. Any NBA player with half a brain knows this... well then there is JR Smith, who is just thinking of himself, and goes after a player on the other team, not thinking that there might just be repercussions to doing something stupid like that. Now he and the NBAs leading scorer are looking at long suspensions, not to mention the suspensions of the bit players.

[kyyle23]

I don't know about a "right" to go after someone, but all I know is that the kid didn't have sense enough to realize why in that particular game siutation he was getting fouled hard... The Nuggets were up by 20 with barely anytime left in the game and still had their starters on the floor. They were running up the score, and a hard foul isn't a big surprise at that point. Any NBA player with half a brain knows this... well then there is JR Smith, who is just thinking of himself, and goes after a player on the other team, not thinking that there might just be repercussions to doing something stupid like that. Now he and the NBAs leading scorer are looking at long suspensions, not to mention the suspensions of the bit players.

Carmelo just became the sissy-girl player of the month, possibly the year, for me. I still cant believe he pulled such a punk suckerpunch-and-run move. He couldnt run away from Jeffries fast enough

[RME JICO]

Here are the suspensions:

NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday and six other players were penalized as commissioner David Stern came down hard on both teams after the Nuggets and Knicks brawled at Madison Square Garden.

Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended. Stern fined each organization $500,000. But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night.

"The NBA and its players represent a game of extraordinary skill, athleticism and grace, and, for good or bad, set an example for the entire basketball world, on and off the court," Stern said in a statement.

Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith sparked the fighting, was suspended six games and Knicks teammate Jared Jeffries will miss four. Also, the Knicks' Jerome James and Denver's Nene were both penalized one game for leaving the bench area during the chaos.

[madisonsmadhouse]

Wait so Isiah Thomas is not being suspended at all? That is complete Bullshit! I guess the NBA figures the best way to punish Thomas is to make him coach this roster...

[TeaLeafReaderII]

Chris, Seattle: and The fact that everyone makes such a big deal about an NBA brawl and not so much about a MLB brawl smacks of Racism, I don't care what people say.

SportsNation Bill Simmons: Couldn't agree more. Everyone involved in this fight was black, so the players are now "out of control" and the whole thing is "a disgrace." But when a white baseball player charges a white pitcher, it's all in good fun. It's a little weird.

I was just reading the live chat with bill simmons and came upon these statements. So absolutely right. When Brian Anderson beats John Marbry like a bad habbit he is defending his teammate... When Carmello punches Mardy Collins, who happens to be the "enforcer" who seconds ago grabbed his teammate by the neck and threw him to the ground as he was running at full speed, it's a sucker punch. I don't even get how you can call it a sucker punch. Collins was staring right at him and egging him on. Collins had ample opportunity to defend himself.

Oh well, just another example of modern racism.

[madisonsmadhouse]

I was just reading the live chat with bill simmons and came upon these statements. So absolutely right. When Brian Anderson beats John Marbry like a bad habbit he is defending his teammate... When Carmello punches Mardy Collins, who happens to be the "enforcer" who seconds ago grabbed his teammate by the neck and threw him to the ground as he was running at full speed, it's a sucker punch. I don't even get how you can call it a sucker punch. Collins was staring right at him and egging him on. Collins had ample opportunity to defend himself.

Oh well, just another example of modern racism.

Um, I seem to remember anytime a baseball fight has involved the crowd, it has been a pretty damned big deal. Idiots.

[Goldmember]

Um, I seem to remember anytime a baseball fight has involved the crowd, it has been a pretty damned big deal. Idiots.

not to mention they're thought of in the same light whether it's white pitcher/white hitter, white pitcher/black hitter, black pitcher/asian hitter/white pitcher/hispanic hitter, etc. etc. that's also not counting the different intricacies of the game. claiming racism is the biggest load i've ever heard...

[TeaLeafReaderII]

Um, I seem to remember anytime a baseball fight has involved the crowd, it has been a pretty damned big deal. Idiots.

yeah, when it involves fans hurting players... or maybe you are referring to the black pitcher that recently through a chair at some lady in Texas, that was a big deal. (and it should be)

But the biggest point by those condemning this brawl is the out of control violence. Not that there were players rolling around amongst the photographers. Carmello got stiffest fine and he wasn't risking the fans like the Smith and Nate were. They are keeping him out of 20% of the season and taking about 600 grand in game checks from him because he backed up his team mate, and he was the only one clearly on tape throwing a punch. If going into the fans was a big deal Robinson and Smith would be the ones getting the ridiculous 12+ game suspension.

The same writers saying this is a huge black eye for the NBA are the same ones saying AJ got what was coming to him.

I'm not saying its overt racism, it is something much more subtle. We don't even notice until it's pointed out. It's like when we talk about guys like Elway, and Young we use adjectives like tough and courageous, but when describe McNabb or Cunningham the adjectives are athletic and naturally gifted.