NBA suspension looms for brawling
(AFP)Updated: 2006-12-18 15:24
Another wild melee at the end of a National Basketball Association game has given the league a black eye and likely will bring sucker-punching NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony a long banishment.
 Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets walks off the court after being ejected for fighting against the New York Knicks after a foul that led to a fight 16 December 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[AFP]  |
Ten players were ejected here Saturday after a brawl in the final seconds of Denver's 123-100 victory over the New York Knicks, an ignominious addition to the list of famed fights at legendary Madison Square Garden.
"I feel bad for the league," Denver coach George Karl said. "I feel bad for the Nuggets and the Knicks - very poor display of respecting basketball, of respecting the game in the best place in the world to play basketball."
The game evoked memories of a 2004 NBA brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, one which included players fighting spectators and produced record-setting suspensions and legal charges.
The latest wild scenes spilled into the front row of seats behind a basket and did not involve spectators, but even with security in place it quickly erupted into a melee that is certain to bring suspensions.
"I'm sure the NBA will find a way to clean it up," Knicks star Stephon Marbury said.
With 75 seconds to play and the Nuggets ahead by 19 points, New York rookie Mardy Collins grabbed J.R. Smith around the neck as he was preparing to make a breakaway layup and sent him tumbling to the court.
The flagrant foul upon a Nuggets player who moments earlier had slammed down a reverse dunk on the helpless Knicks sparked tempers and frustrations.
"They just wanted to embarrass us," New York's Jared Jeffries said. "It was a slap in the face."
New York guard Nate Robinson and Smith tackled each other and tumbled over photographers into the first row of spectators as rival players confronted each other.
"Things happened," Robinson said.
"You're trying to protect your team. You're trying to protect yourself in a situation like that. Things happened so fast, you don't know what's going on."
Just as order appeared to be restored, Anthony - who averages an NBA-best 31.6 points a game, threw a surprise punch in the face of Collins and backed away as Jeffries pursued until being restrained before he could retaliate.
As tensions cooled, Knicks coach Isiah Thomas questioned Anthony about why he was still in the game in the waning seconds of a blowout victory against a set of Knicks' second-stringers.
"I just said to him, 'You're up 20 or 19 with a minute and a half to go. You and (Marcus) Camby really shouldn't be in the game right now'.
"We had surrendered and those guys shouldn't have even been in the game at that point in time. They were sticking it to us pretty good and they were having their way with us."
ESPN reported that a member of the Nuggets' organization said Thomas had told Anthony seconds before the brawl that he should avoid going near the paint, seen in the aftermath as a sign Thomas might have ordered the hard foul.
"This isn't something anyone is proud of when it escalates like this," said Thomas. "Clearly this isn't how we or the NBA or anybody wants to be perceived."
Karl, who might have seen star forward Anthony's final game until January, called the melee a "lack of mental stability" and was adamant that he, not Thomas, would decide which of his players was needed on the court at the end.
"We're not playing well and we're going to take substitutions in the game when I want to win the game? Coaches get tight. We were conservative, and substituted conservatively, in the second half," Karl said.
"Sometimes, you just have to finish the game with the guys on the court."
All 10 of those on the court - Collins, Robinson, Jeffries, David Lee and Channing Frye for the Knicks and Denver's Anthony, Smith, Camby, Andre Miller and Eduardo Najera - were ejected and are likely to face suspensions.
The Nuggets are among the teams reportedly looking to make a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for star guard Allen Iverson.
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