Lessons learned, but teams prefer to leave brawl in past

Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 6, 2007 at midnight

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NEW YORK - See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.

The brawl Dec. 16 between the Nuggets and New York Knicks was a dark moment. No wonder many of the participants in recent days have claimed memory loss.

It will be hard, though, to get away from the bad memories tonight when the teams return to the scene of the crime. And while the NBA did not go so far as to place the Madison Square Garden game on ABC, ESPN or TNT, it will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.

"That incident, it happened, it's over with," Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. "I don't even think about it anymore."

It was hard for Anthony not to think about it midway through last season. Suspended for 15 games for throwing a punch at Knicks guard Mardy Collins, he suffered the greatest consequences of any of the seven players suspended.

Anthony, his reputation tarnished, had an airlines magazine pulled with his photo on the cover (NWA WorldTraveler). He had to sweat to get invited to the All-Star Game, being named an injury replacement. And he made third-team All-NBA despite statistics worthy of at least second team.

"It just made me grow up a little bit, realize what's at stake," Anthony, who has been a model citizen since, said of the suspension in which the Nuggets went 7-8 during his absence.

Anthony made his comments after Sunday's home loss against New Orleans. He missed practice Monday because of what the team called personal reasons, then flew with the Nuggets to New York. So that was one fewer brawl participant available to sidestep questions or claim to have a fuzzy memory.

"I didn't even want to watch (replays)," said 5-foot-9 Knicks guard Nate Robinson, suspended 10 games for his role. "I play video games at home. I don't watch TV."

Knicks center Eddy Curry, who was not involved, joked he "was on the bench with my eyes closed (and) didn't see nothing."

The brouhaha started when the Knicks were upset Nuggets starters still were on the court with Denver leading 119-100 and 1:15 left. As Nuggets guard J.R. Smith went in for what the Knicks thought would be a showboat dunk, Collins brought him down by the neck and was whistled for a foul.

Smith got up and jawed at Collins. Robinson, giving up 9 inches to Smith, jumped in and the fight escalated. Smith and Robinson grappled and tumbled into the front row, and Smith threw a punch at Robinson.

The incident seemed to die down. But then Anthony, while being held back by Knicks assistant coach Mark Aguirre, punched Collins in the head and retreated toward midcourt, with Knicks forward Jared Jeffries chasing after him before being stopped.

All 10 players in the game at the time were ejected and both teams were fined $500,000. In addition to the penalties assessed Anthony and Robinson, Smith was suspended for 10 games, Collins for six, Jeffries for four. The Nuggets' Nene and the Knicks' Jerome James each got one game for leaving the bench area.

"I would've done the same thing," Collins said. "Just, hopefully, it wouldn't escalate that far. . . . (It was) a good foul. I've seen harder. . . . It was something that's over with now."

Collins expects players to be on their best behavior tonight because "nobody's trying to miss any more time."

Still, Anthony said the Nuggets have to "be prepared for (what fans are) going to throw at us."

But not literally.

"I'm not worried about them throwing things at us," Anthony said. "(NBA commissioner) David Stern got that covered."

One wonders if Stern, whose office is just up the street, will keep a close eye on doings between Nuggets coach George Karl and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas.

Karl ripped Thomas after the brawl, using very salty language in his claim Thomas started it by ordering his players to get rough.

Thomas was not penalized by the NBA. He sidestepped brawl- related questions Monday and wouldn't comment directly on his alleged role.

"I think we've grown and learned from it and I think that's what you do with circumstances like that," Karl said of the Nuggets returning to the Garden. "You have to think about them and live with them. And you persevere through it and then, hopefully, you grow up and learn from the experience. And I think we've done that."

Like Anthony, Robinson said he has learned from the incident.

"We already apologized for what happened, to the kids, to the fans, to the NBA . . . ," said Robinson, who said he will play tonight despite a strained hamstring while Jeffries is out because of a sprained knee. "I'm just maturing as a man. I got two kids. I got to set an example for them. I don't want them to go out and see me acting like I did."

Robinson tonight will be matched against Nuggets point guard Allen Iverson, whom some suggest ended up in Denver because of the brawl. Although Nuggets officials have denied the suspensions were why they traded for Iverson the day after the penalties were announced, don't tell that to Smith.

"Before the fight happened, it was all speculation that A.I. was going to get traded here," Smith said. "As soon as the fight happened, we knew we had to win games and that was pretty much the only way we were really going to win games, if we got A.I. as fast as we could."

Overall, the Nuggets recovered from the brawl as well as one might expect. After Anthony returned, they went 25-20 to finish 45-37.

Still, the incident remains an ugly part of team history.

"A lot of people are expecting drama, but I think what happened last year both teams probably wish never happened," Nuggets center Marcus Camby said. "We definitely don't want to scar the league, which I definitely felt that a lot of individuals did on that particular night."

Camby was among those ejected even though he was acting as a peacemaker. At least he didn't claim Monday to have had his eyes closed.

J.R. Smith: Slow to rebound

Nearly 11 months later, it is not the punches that stand out in J.R. Smith's mind. It is the look on Ida and Earl Smith's faces when their baseline seats turned into ringside seats at Madison Square Garden.

"I don't really remember the fight as much," Smith said Monday. "I just remember my parents sitting on the baseline and just in awe of the whole thing."

The shock and awe continued when Smith was suspended 10 games for his role in the Dec. 16 brawl between the Nuggets and Knicks.

Averaging 16.7 points at the time, Smith never found his rhythm after returning, averaging only 11 points in his final 41 games. He also endured a miserable playoff series and was benched for the final game against the San Antonio Spurs.

"It just takes a lot out of you mentally and physically when you get suspended 10 games," he said. "I think the whole team didn't get back on track the way we needed to."

Smith is expected to make his season debut tonight when he and the Nuggets return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since the fight. He missed the first three games of the season while serving a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

The Nuggets could use Smith's fresh legs and outside shooting ability. The Nuggets have three injured guards and are shooting 30.5 percent on three-pointers.

"I'm pretty sure J.R.'s excited to get back," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "I'm pretty sure he's going to provide us with the outside shot we've been looking for."

Bad blood

After sidestepping questions Monday about the brawl and his relationship with George Karl, Isiah Thomas finally answered one.

If he and Karl passed each other tonight in a hallway, what would Thomas do?

"I'll be cordial just as I am with everyone," Thomas said.

Nevertheless, there haven't been many nice words tossed around between the two NBA coaches.

It started early in summer 2006, when the Nuggets' Karl was critical with how Thomas, then a Knicks executive, handled the ouster of New York coach Larry Brown.

Karl and Brown attended the University of North Carolina.

Thomas had words with Karl shortly thereafter at the (Las) Vegas Summer League.

Then came the brawl between the teams Dec. 16, with Thomas having replaced Brown on the Knicks bench.

Karl denied accusations by Thomas he had left his starters in too long in a lopsided game. And he accused Thomas of inciting the brawl by telling his players to get rough.

Karl's language was not suitable for a family newspaper. After Karl said Thomas was "full of ----" and is "a total ---hole," it was mild when Karl merely called him a "jerk."

With the teams preparing to meet tonight for the first time since the incident, Thomas sidestepped questions.

This was a typical Thomas answer to a question related to the brawl: "I think everyone is looking forward to playing a good basketball game," he said.

Then again, it wasn't as if Karl was still piling on Monday against Thomas.

"Don't have an answer for that one," Karl replied when asked if will seek to patch things up with Thomas.

Nuggets damaged more

It's not hard to figure out the Nuggets were hurt more than the Knicks as a result of the penalties assessed for the brawl.

The Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony, who was averaging 28.9 points, was suspended for 15 games. J.R. Smith, who was averaging 13, was suspended for 10. And Nene (6.2) for one.

The Knicks lost Nate Robinson (10.1) for 10 games, Mardy Collins (4.5) for six, Jared Jeffries (4.1) for four and Jerome James (2.1) for one.

"We lost our franchise player for an extended period of time," Nuggets center Marcus Camby said. "When you're jockeying for playoff position going down the stretch, you kind of look back at those games that he's missed and maybe we would have had a different seeding."

Actually, it's tough to make a case for that. The Nuggets went 45-37 and were the West's No. 6 seed, missing out on a higher seed by six games. For a better seed, they would have needed a 13-2 record (or 12-3 if a Utah loss was reversed) instead of 7-8, during the games Anthony sat.

Still, the Knicks, despite going 33-49, overcame their penalties better than the Nuggets. How the teams fared during each player's suspension:

• NUGGETS

Player Games Record

Carmelo Anthony 15 7-8

J.R. Smith 10 4-6

Nene 1 1-0

• KNICKS

Player Games Record

Nate Robinson 10 6-4

Mardy Collins 6 4-2

Jared Jeffries 4 3-1

Jerome James 1 1-0

Nuggets at Knicks

• When: 5:30 MST tonight.

• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York.

• TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

• Starting lineups

Denver (2-1) Pos. Ht. Pts.

Carmelo Anthony F 6-8 28.3

Nene F 6-11 7.3

Marcus Camby C 6-11 8.7

Yakhouba Diawara G 6-7 5.7

Allen Iverson G 6-0 24.0

Coach: George Karl

New York (1-1) Pos. Ht. Pts.

Zach Randolph F 6-9 18.0

Quentin Richardson F 6-6 3.0

Eddy Curry C 6-11 16.0

Jamal Crawford G 6-5 24.5

Stephon Marbury G 6-2 13.5

Coach: Isiah Thomas

• Injuries: Denver - G Chucky Atkins (strained right groin) and G Anthony Carter (broken right hand) are out; G Mike Wilks (strained right hamstring) is questionable. New York - F Jared Jeffries (sprained right knee) is out; C Jerome James (left knee tendinitis) is doubtful; G Nate Robinson (strained right hamstring) is questionable.

• Notes: With back-to-back games in New York and Boston, Karl planned to give forward Kenyon Martin tonight off to rest his surgically repaired right knee, but Martin said a final decision had not been made. He joked he might flip a coin to determine which game he would play. "I've still got a few fans out there (in New York) and I still want to play in front of them," he said. "It'll get discussed (today)." . . . Iverson was on the bench for only 88 seconds of Sunday night's loss against New Orleans, but the return of J.R. Smith might ease his workload as backup point guards Wilks, Atkins and Carter recover from injuries. "A.I. wants to play 48 minutes," Smith said. "As long as he's on the court, he's going to have the ball in his hands." . . . Anthony missed practice because of personal reasons but joined the team for its flight to New York.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com. Aaron J. Lopez and Paul Willis contributed to this story.

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