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Knicks–Nuggets brawl
Madison Square Garden, the site of the brawl
Denver Nuggets New York Knicks
123 100
1234 Total
Denver Nuggets 29382729 123
New York Knicks 22323016 100
DateDecember 16, 2006
VenueMadison Square Garden,New York City, U.S.
RefereesDick Bavetta,Violet Palmer,Robbie Robinson
Attendance19,763
NetworkMSG Network(Knicks)
Altitude Sports and Entertainment(Nuggets)

TheKnicks–Nuggets brawlwas an on-court altercation at aNational Basketball Association( NBA ) game between theNew York KnicksandDenver NuggetsatMadison Square Gardenin New York City on December 16, 2006. This altercation became the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since theIndiana Pacers–Detroit Pistonsbrawl, otherwise known as theMalice at the Palace,which occurred on November 19, 2004.

The fight began with aflagrant foulby KnicksguardMardy Collinson Nuggets guardJ. R. Smithin the closing seconds of the game. Several players joined in the confrontation and began to make physical contact. The fight briefly spilled into the stands, and also stretched to the other end of the court. All ten players on the floor at the time wereejectedafter the altercation was finished. When suspensions were announced, seven players were suspended without pay for a combined total of 47 games.

Although they were not penalized, Nuggets coachGeorge Karland Knicks coachIsiah Thomaswere both scrutinized for their part in the brawl, while NuggetsforwardCarmelo Anthonywas criticized for harming his image as a star. Several writers said the NBA had penalized the players excessively because it wanted to keep its image free from violence.

Game recap

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Entering the game, theNew York Knickshad a record of 9–17 while theDenver Nuggetssported a 13–9 record.[1][2]Despite trailing the entire game, the Knicks came as close as two points in the first half, However, the Nuggets regrouped and closed the half with a 13-point advantage, and continued to lead in the second half by as much as 26 points in the third quarter. The Knicks briefly came within ten points with ten minutes left in the game, but the Nuggets went on a 12–2 run and were never threatened again.[3]ForwardCarmelo Anthonyscored 34 points to lead the Nuggets, andcenterMarcus Cambyadded 24 points and 9rebounds;Stephon Marburyscored a season-high 31 points for the Knicks.[4]

Altercation

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The incident occurred with 1:15 remaining in the Knicks' home game atMadison Square Garden,where the Nuggets were leading 119–100. The Knicks'Mardy Collinsfouled the Nuggets'J. R. Smithon afast breakby slapping his arms around Smith's neck, knocking him to the floor; Collins was immediately whistled for aFlagrant 2 Foulby officialDick Bavetta,meaning Collins was to be immediatelyejected.As Smith stood up to confront Collins,Nate Robinsonpulled Smith away, and then began pushing and shouting at him.David Leetried to hold Smith back, but Smith broke free and charged into Robinson, causing both players to fall into the photographers and front row courtside seats before they were quickly separated by teammates.[4]

As the fighting was seemingly coming to an end, Anthony confronted Collins and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.Jared Jeffriesimmediately tried to attack Anthony but tripped over Camby before being restrained by coaches and teammates, while Anthony backed up towards the Nuggets' bench. Collins also ran down the court to get at Anthony but was blocked byNenêand Smith. All ten players on the court at the time of the incident were ejected by the officiating crew that consisted of Bavetta,Violet Palmer,andRobbie Robinson.[4]Linas Kleizamade one of two free throws off the initial flagrant foul by Collins, as Smith, who would have been the one to shoot the free throws after being the recipient of the foul, was among those ejected.

Reactions

[edit]

Suspensions

[edit]
Player Suspension by the NBA Salary lost
Carmelo Anthony(DEN) 15 games US$640,097
J.R. Smith(DEN) 10 games US$126,142
Nate Robinson(NYK) 10 games US$107,771
Mardy Collins(NYK) 6 games US$49,084
Jared Jeffries(NYK) 4 games US$189,636
Nenê(DEN) 1 game US$72,727
Jerome James(NYK) 1 game US$49,091

NBA CommissionerDavid Sternreacted with strict penalties for the players involved, stating, "It is our obligation to take the strongest possible steps to avoid such failures in the future". Seven players were suspended for a total of 47 games, and the players lost in excess of US$1.2 million in salary. Each team was also fined US$500,000.[5][6]Because Anthony's suspension was longer than twelve games, he was eligible to appeal to anarbitrator;however, Anthony eventually announced he would not attempt one, saying he did not "want to be a further distraction".[7]

Public reaction

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Several sportswriters said the brawl was not as violent as the Pacers–Pistons brawl two years before,[8][9]and 81% of respondents in aSportsNationpoll said the biggest difference between the two brawls was that it "didn't involve players going into the stands and fighting fans".[10]However,MSNBC's Michael Ventre said that the Knicks and Nuggets brawl was worse because "it was touched off by the actions of players, and it escalated because of them".[11]Several writers said that the penalties were more severe because of the Pacers–Pistons brawl, because the NBA was on a "very serious image-cleanup campaign".[12][13]

Steve Francisclaimed that the media reaction to the fight and the suspensions itself were "racially motivated", arguing thatMajor League Baseballand theNational Hockey Leaguehad "incidents that are way worse than basketball" but did not face the scrutiny that the NBA received "because there are more black players in the NBA".[14]This was echoed by several writers, and sportswriter-television personalityMichael Wilbonsaid that, "NBA players have endured more scrutiny, pertaining to image, than any other professional athletes in America".[8][12]Martin Luther King IIIcalled for a meeting to end the violence in the NBA, stating, "Individuals who play a game should be able to conduct themselves appropriately". However, the NBA said through a spokesman that they "don't think that meeting is necessary".[15]

Coaches' role in the brawl

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Thomas came under scrutiny for his actions before the brawl.

Minutes before the brawl started, Knicks coachIsiah Thomasasked Anthony not to go into the painted area around the basket, despite the fact that they were not members of the same team. Thomas later said that because Nuggets head coachGeorge Karlkept his team'sstarting playerson the court for the closing minutes of the game, which Thomas thought showed a lack of sportsmanship, his orders to Anthony were to "show some class".[16]However, Karl responded by saying the brawl "was directed by Isiah".[17]

Thomas was not penalized after the brawl, as an NBA investigation ruled that they did not have "adequate evidence upon which to make a determination",[18]but several writers criticized the NBA for not including Thomas in the suspensions.[12][17][19][20][21]ESPNanalystMarc Steincalled Thomas' explanations of his comments "laughable",[22]and commentatorGreg Anthony,a former Knicks player, said he "never had a coach say that to an opponent".[23]It was also suggested that Thomas was attempting to resurrect the physical tactics of his former team, the"Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons.[24][25]

In response to Thomas saying that keeping the Nuggets starters on the floor in the final minutes of the game was unsportsmanlike, Karl said that he "never thought about running up the score", and only wanted to "get a big win on the road".[26]However, several sportswriters criticized his decision, and some said that he should also have been penalized.[26][27][28]It was also suggested that Karl was trying to humiliate Thomas due to the perception that Thomas had mistreatedLarry Brown,a friend of Karl's.[19][27][28]Karl was also blamed for putting his players in a position to start a fight.[8][27]

Carmelo Anthony

[edit]

The day following the brawl, Anthony issued a statement and apology to his family, to the NBA, and to fans. He also specifically apologized to Mardy Collins, whom he directly struck during the incident.[29]At the time of the brawl, Anthony was the league's leading scorer;[13]his suspension was also the longest of the players suspended, and the sixth-longest in NBA history.[30]According to former NBA playerSteve Kerr,Anthony had "tarnished" his image,[13]and basketball analystRic Buchersaid that Anthony had "torched his own career".[31]Sports Illustratedwriter Marty Burns said that Anthony faced becoming known by sports fans across America as the player who punched Collins in the face and then ran away.[32]An example of the backlash wasNorthwest Airlinespulling Anthony from its in-flight magazine cover, as it said it did not want "to condone the behavior of Anthony".[33]In 2019, Anthony said that the NBA was "making an example of [him] at that point in time" because of the fallout from the Pacers–Pistons brawl.[34]

Events after the brawl

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A day after Anthony was suspended, Denver acquiredAllen Iverson,who was then second in the NBA in scoring behind Anthony.[35]After Anthony and Smith returned from their suspensions, the trio led the Nuggets to 45 wins and the sixth seed in theWestern Conferencefor the2007 playoffs.[36]However, they were eliminated in the first round by theSan Antonio Spurs.[37]The Knicks finished 33–49, 12th in theEastern Conference,and did not make the playoffs.[36]

The two teams faced each other for the first time since the altercation on November 17, 2007, which the Nuggets won 115–83. Opposing playersRenaldo BalkmanandLinas Kleizabegan arguing with each other after Balkman was called for a hard foul on Kleiza, but the incident was defused after Balkman was given atechnical foul.Iverson, Anthony, and Camby were all removed early in the fourth quarter.[38]Balkman and Kleiza later became teammates[39]after Balkman wastradedto the Nuggets in the 2008 off–season.[40]

Box score

[edit]

Sources[41][42]

December 16, 2006(2006-12-16)
7:30p.m.
Denver Nuggets123,New York Knicks 100
Scoring by quarter:29–22, 38–32, 27–30, 29–16
Pts:Anthony34
Rebs:Camby,Evans9 each
Asts:Miller10		 Pts:Marbury31
Rebs:Lee15
Asts:Marbury8
Denver Nuggets
Player Pos Min FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS +/−
Carmelo Anthony F 42:28 15 29 .517 0 1 .000 4 5 .800 3 4 7 4 0 0 0 3 34 19
J. R. Smith G 35:25 4 7 .571 2 4 .500 3 4 .750 0 3 3 3 1 0 0 3 13 25
Andre Miller G 34:24 5 9 .556 0 0 2 2 1.000 2 3 5 10 3 0 7 3 12 19
Marcus Camby C 32:01 9 11 .818 0 0 6 6 1.000 1 8 9 3 1 7 0 1 24 16
Nenê F 17:56 2 5 .400 0 0 2 2 1.000 0 4 4 3 1 2 2 4 6 16
Eduardo Nájera 23:17 0 2 .000 0 1 .000 4 4 1.000 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 4 1
Earl Boykins 21:27 4 9 .444 2 4 .500 2 2 1.000 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 12 −3
Reggie Evans 17:42 3 4 .750 0 0 2 2 1.000 2 7 9 0 0 0 3 3 8 9
Yakhouba Diawara 11:35 2 2 1.000 2 2 1.000 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 6 4
Linas Kleiza 1:15 1 1 1.000 1 1 1.000 1 2 .500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
DerMarr Johnson 1:15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Joe Smith 1:15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Team Totals 240 45 79 .570 7 13 .538 26 29 .897 8 31 39 28 6 9 13 22 123
New York Knicks
Player Pos Min FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS +/−
Stephon Marbury G 41:29 13 24 .542 3 8 .375 2 4 .500 2 1 3 8 1 0 2 3 31 −18
Jared Jeffries F 38:36 4 8 .500 1 2 .500 0 1 .000 5 1 6 2 3 2 3 4 9 −23
Jamal Crawford G 28:32 1 9 .111 0 5 .000 0 0 0 2 2 7 1 0 2 0 2 −28
Eddy Curry C 26:41 6 10 .600 0 0 7 11 .636 1 2 3 0 0 0 4 3 19 −23
Channing Frye F 26:31 4 12 .333 0 1 .000 2 3 .667 2 3 5 0 1 4 1 4 10 −1
David Lee 39:28 6 10 .600 0 0 0 0 7 8 15 1 1 1 3 5 12 −8
Nate Robinson 29:14 7 20 .350 3 10 .300 0 0 1 2 3 3 0 0 0 2 17 4
Malik Rose 6:32 0 2 .000 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 −10
Renaldo Balkman 2:07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 −5
Mardy Collins 0:49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 −3
Jerome James did not play
Kelvin Cato did not play
Team Totals 240 41 95 .432 7 26 .269 11 19 .579 20 21 41 21 7 7 16 23 100

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^"New York Knicks Schedule - 2006-07".ESPN.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  2. ^"Denver Nuggets Schedule - 2006-07".ESPN.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  3. ^"Denver Nuggets vs. New York Knicks - Play By Play - December 16, 2006".ESPN. December 16, 2006.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  4. ^abc"Nuggets, Knicks in wild free-for-all; 10 players tossed".ESPN.December 16, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon December 18, 2006.RetrievedApril 4,2009.
  5. ^"Nuggets-Knicks Suspensions".NBA.December 18, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon April 9, 2009.RetrievedApril 5,2009.
  6. ^"Suspensions total 47 games from Knicks-Nuggets fight".ESPN. December 20, 2006.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  7. ^Stein, Marc (December 22, 2006)."Anthony doesn't want to be distraction, won't appeal".ESPN.RetrievedApril 6,2009.
  8. ^abcCelizic, Mike (December 18, 2006)."Plenty of blame to go around for this brawl".NBA Sports. Archived fromthe originalon February 10, 2009.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  9. ^Miller, Ted (December 20, 2006)."Brawl fell far short of all the outrage".Seattle Post-Intelligencer.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  10. ^"Vote: How long should 'Melo and Isiah be suspended?".ESPN. December 17, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon July 14, 2012.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  11. ^Ventre, Michael (December 18, 2006)."Two years later, a brawl that's worse".NBC Sports. Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2012.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  12. ^abcWilbon, Michael (December 19, 2006)."A Hittin' Image".The Washington Post.RetrievedApril 4,2009.
  13. ^abcKerr, Steve (December 18, 2006)."Rocky Mountain low".Yahoo Sports.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  14. ^Martin, Dan; Berman, Marc (December 19, 2006)."Knicks' Francis: Race a Factor".New York Post.Archived fromthe originalon April 30, 2008.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  15. ^DiTore, Larry (December 19, 2006)."NBA Referees Invite League, Players to Meet on Fight".Bloomberg.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  16. ^"Melo apologizes; Isiah reportedly under investigation".ESPN. December 20, 2006.RetrievedApril 6,2009.
  17. ^abDahlberg, Tim (December 18, 2006)."Column: Thomas Escapes Hands of Stern".Forbes.Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2007.RetrievedApril 6,2009.
  18. ^Beck, Howard (December 19, 2006)."Lack of Evidence Lets Thomas Avoid Punishment".New York Times.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  19. ^abCelizic, Mike (December 18, 2006)."Stern let biggest culprit in brawl off easy: Isiah".MSNBC. Archived fromthe originalon January 2, 2007.RetrievedApril 4,2009.
  20. ^Lupica, Mike (December 18, 2006)."Blame Isiah for brawl".New York Daily News.Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2006.RetrievedApril 4,2009.
  21. ^Sheridan, Chris (December 19, 2006)."Not so Stern: Commish lets Isiah off the hook".ESPN.RetrievedApril 4,2009.
  22. ^Stein, Marc (December 19, 2006)."Questions answered: Stern, Melo, Isiah and the brawl".ESPN.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  23. ^Berman, Marc (December 20, 2006)."Not so Tough".New York Post.Archived fromthe originalon December 26, 2007.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  24. ^Bialik, Carl; Fry, Jason (December 19, 2006)."Thomas May Be Only Winner In Wake of NBA 's Latest Fight".Wall Street Journal.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  25. ^Soshnick, Scott (December 18, 2006)."Thomas Has Knicks Fighting Phantoms".Bloomberg News.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  26. ^abAraton, Harvey (December 19, 2006)."As Thomas Takes Heat, Karl Escapes Scrutiny".New York Times.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  27. ^abcVecsey, Peter (December 18, 2006)."Nuggets' Karl also earned ban".New York Post.Archived fromthe originalon September 29, 2007.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  28. ^abMay, Peter (December 19, 2006)."The Stern reality -- 7 players suspended".Boston Globe.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  29. ^"Statement from Carmelo Anthony".NBA.December 17, 2006.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  30. ^Nance, Roscoe (December 19, 2006)."NBA hands out penalties — Anthony suspended 15 games".USA Today.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  31. ^Bucher, Ric (December 19, 2006)."Melo's walking a dangerous line again".ESPN.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  32. ^Burns, Marty (December 17, 2006)."'Melo drama ".Sports Illustrated. Archived fromthe originalon January 3, 2007.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  33. ^"Airline doesn't want to condone brawl, pulls feature".ESPN. December 20, 2006.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  34. ^Spears, Marc J. (October 21, 2018)."Rockets' Carmelo Anthony remembers 2006 NBA fight".ESPN.RetrievedNovember 5,2019– via ABC13.
  35. ^"Miller, Smith go to Sixers in deal for Iverson".ESPN. December 20, 2006.RetrievedApril 7,2009.
  36. ^ab"NBA Standings - 2006-2007".ESPN.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  37. ^"2006-07 Denver Nuggets Roster and Statistics".Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  38. ^"Melo scores 24, Iverson adds 23 as Nuggets roll Knicks in Randolph's return".ESPN. November 17, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon November 19, 2007.RetrievedApril 9,2009.
  39. ^"Denver Nuggets (1976 - ) 2008 Stats, History, Awards and More".Archived fromthe originalon January 17, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 6,2010.
  40. ^Nuggets acquire Knicks' Balkman in trade package - NBA - ESPN
  41. ^"Denver Nuggets at New York Knicks Box Score, December 16, 2006".Basketball Reference.RetrievedAugust 10,2021.
  42. ^"Denver Nuggets vs New York Knicks Dec 16, 2006".National Basketball Association.RetrievedAugust 10,2021.

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