Knicks-Nuggets brawl

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The Knicks-Nuggets Brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, US, on Saturday, December 16, 2006. This altercation was the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl of November 19, 2004.

The fight began with a flagrant foul by Knicks guard Mardy Collins on Denver Nuggets guard J. R. Smith in the closing seconds of the game, when it appeared the Knicks, especially New York coach Isiah Thomas, became enraged by the perceived unsportsmanlike running up the score by the Nuggets. Denver, despite having a comfortable lead, still had their starters on the floor. Thomas himself also had apparently verbally warned Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony to not go into the paint. The foul touched off a brawl that ultimately led to the ejection of all ten players on the court and suspensions to seven players. The longest of these suspensions was Denver's Carmelo Anthony lasting 15 games.

[edit] Prelude

Before the brawl, Knicks head coach and general manager Isiah Thomas had been using increasingly "provocative" tactics and behavior during the season^[1], including:

• October 27, vs. New Jersey Nets: In the preseason game, Thomas confronted Nets assistant coach Tom Barrise after a near-brawl because of hard play involving Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry, Steve Francis and Mikki Moore, while Nets head coach Lawrence Frank refused to even respond or acknowledge Thomas. Curry said, "We're tired of being pushed around", while Thomas insisted "The better teams don't like when the teams on the bottom give them a hard time...Sometimes they get a little upset with that. We have to give them a hard time and I hope they don't take it personally."
• November 11, vs. San Antonio Spurs: Thomas seemingly attempted to pick a fight with Bruce Bowen, who claimed Thomas screamed at his players to "break his foot", threatening retaliation for the way Bowen used his legs when Jamal Crawford attempted a shot. Thomas later got into a shouting match with coach Gregg Popovich. Thomas defended his actions, "I was trying to stoke a little fire. We were playing three games in four nights against a pretty tough opponent in a getaway game. We were almost ready to pack our bags." He later referred to his "Bad Boys" days, and said if someone tried that against him, "I would murder him." Tim Duncan's response to Thomas' words and actions:

Thomas was also feeling job pressure from the media and fans, who had in previous games had been chanting "Fire Thomas!", especially during a December 6 lackluster loss to the Washington Wizards^[2], due to his team's poor overall and home record under his tenure as both GM and then in his dual role of head coach/GM, as well as the lingering backlash from his sexual harassment lawsuit. It was evidenced by stunning photographs of a half-empty Madison Square Garden, with many dozing, apathetic fans.

[edit] The brawl

The incident occurred with 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining in a Knicks' home game, which the Nuggets were leading 119-100, and which they would go on to win 123-100. Denver head coach George Karl kept his team's starters on the court for the closing minutes of a game that was all but won,^[3] though doing so was considered by Isiah Thomas to show a lack of sportsmanship. However, as was noted by Nuggets coach Karl, Thomas had a team on the court that had cut a 25-point lead down to 10 in a couple of minutes during the game. Moreover, the Nuggets had blown two significant leads in previous games on the four-game road trip that ended in New York. Additionally, in the previous meeting between the two teams on November 8, 2006 at Denver's Pepsi Center, New York overcame a 12-point deficit to win 109-107.^[4]

Speculation has arisen that Karl's playing the starters that late in the game might have been done to show up the Knicks, specifically Thomas, who, as General Manager of the Knicks earlier in 2006, had fired Karl's friend Larry Brown. It has been confirmed that Thomas warned Denver's All Star forward Carmelo Anthony to stay out of the paint, suggesting that the Knicks were going to do something to respond to the perceived running up of the score.^[5]

Timeline of the brawl (clockwise from top-left): Mardy Collins flagrantly fouling J.R. Smith; initial fighting following the foul; Anthony punching an unsuspecting Collins; the brawl beginning to halt.

Knicks rookie Mardy Collins flagrantly fouled J.R. Smith as he was on a fastbreak for a dunk or layup, by reaching around his neck and throwing him to the ground. Smith and Collins immediately began arguing aggressively as Knick guard Nate Robinson ran up and pushed Smith, although Robinson was allegedly trying to break up the fight. The three were surrounded by many Knicks and Nuggets players, as well as officials. The fracas further escalated when Carmelo Anthony grabbed Robinson's neck. At this point Smith, who was being held back by Knicks player David Lee, broke free and charged at Robinson, who wildly slammed Smith into the courtside seats behind the basket, forcing some spectators and photographers to move away. More fighting ensued, involving several of the players on the court at the time. Order was eventually restored, with the main participants in the altercation being restrained by teammates, coaches, and officials.

Despite the fact that the fighting was apparently coming to an end, Anthony punched Collins in the face, Collins fell to the floor and then Anthony ran away from fray to the other end of the court as Knicks forward Jared Jeffries, Nate Robinson and some other Knicks immediately chased after Anthony the length of the floor to avenge their teammate. Order was eventually restored, and no further fighting occurred. Jeffries later stated that "You have to do what you have to do when your teammate is sucker-punched."^[6]

[edit] Ejections

Following the altercation, officials Dick Bavetta, Violet Palmer, and Robbie Robinson ejected all ten players who had been on the court at the time of the incident. For the Knicks, these players were Mardy Collins, Nate Robinson, Channing Frye, Jared Jeffries, and David Lee. The Nuggets players ejected were Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Andre Miller, Marcus Camby, and Eduardo Nájera.

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] Suspensions

NBA Commissioner David Stern reacted with strict disciplinary action for the many players involved. Prior altercations resulted in suspensions that usually lasted fewer than ten games; when then-Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal almost hard-punched then-Chicago Bull Brad Miller during a fight in 2002, O'Neal was suspended for three games. Because this fight occurred after the Pacers-Pistons brawl two years earlier, and because the NBA, led by Stern, had been working hard to clean up its image since that incident, the penalties for this altercation were much stiffer.

Each team was fined $500,000, and the following players were suspended without pay:

• Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 15 games
• J. R. Smith, Denver, 10 games
• Nate Robinson, New York, 10 games
• Mardy Collins, New York, 6 games
• Jared Jeffries, New York, 4 games
• Nenê, Denver, 1 game
• Jerome James, New York, 1 game

Neither Knicks coach Isiah Thomas nor Nuggets coach George Karl was fined or suspended, though some felt that the brawl had been ignited by enmity between the coaches.^[7]

[edit] Isiah Thomas

Front page of New York Daily News, December 18, 2006.

Stern received criticism for not including Thomas in the suspensions ^[8], with the perception that Stern and Thomas had a special relationship^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}. New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica wrote a column The Garden of Evil, accusing Thomas of creating an uncontrolled atmosphere.^[15] ESPN NBA analyst Marc Stein called the Knicks' defense that "Thomas was actually imploring Melo to show more class" was "laughable."^[16] ESPN's Bill Simmons claimed, "Stern didn't want to suspend Isiah because that would have made it harder for Dolan to fire him."^[17] The Wall Street Journal claimed that Thomas was attempting to resurrect the rough, physical "Bad Boys" tactics of the late 1980s Pistons (of whom Thomas was a member), trying to inspire his team.^[18] Bloomberg News concurred^[19], as did The Gothamist^[20]. Former Knick and current ESPN commentator Greg Anthony, who played under head coach Pat Riley with the Knicks, criticized Thomas^[21], stating "I never had a coach say that to an opponent...I've had a coach say, do a better job protecting our territory. That's a little different." Boston Globe staff writer Peter May stated, referring to Thomas' disastrous stint as GM of the Knicks, "Had Stern really wanted to help the Knicks, he would have banned Thomas for a few months."^[22] Many speculated that he had a hidden agenda, due to the ugly relationship between him and Larry Brown, a good friend of George Karl, and was trying to make a statement by ordering a hit on a Nuggets player.

[edit] George Karl

Karl made expletive-laden comments aimed at Thomas a day later^[23][24], saying:

Karl's comments were criticized by some journalists for using foul language and by others who accused him of having a hidden agenda, due to the aforementioned treatment of his friend Brown and his personal dislike of Thomas.^[25]

[edit] Carmelo Anthony

Anthony's suspension was eligible for appeal because it was longer than 12 games, and NBAPA union head Billy Hunter scheduled a meeting with Anthony and his agent for December 26, 2006 regarding a possible appeal^[26], but on December 21, Anthony and his agent announced they would not attempt one.^[27] As a result of the punch and suspension, though, Anthony's image was damaged severely, according to Yahoo Sports columnist and ex-NBA player Steve Kerr, who said that Anthony's work to clean up his image "which had undergone a fabulous facelift in the past year and a half" had been undone, and "brought back questions of Anthony's character and raised doubt about his ability to be one of the NBA's pillars of success."^[28] CNNSI NBA analyst Marty Burns regretted that Anthony faced becoming known by countless sports fans across America as the guy who threw the punch in the face of Collins and could've severely damaged him.^[29] An example of immediate backlash was Northwest Airlines pulling Anthony from its in-flight magazine cover.^[30] Denver, shortly after the incident, acquired Allen Iverson, who had been neck and neck with Anthony for the scoring lead all season, in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first-round picks in the 2007 NBA Draft.^[31] Some journalists had predicted the trade shortly after the brawl, with the reasoning that the Nuggets would need a scorer like Iverson to make up for the loss of Anthony for an extended period of time^[32][33], implying that the trade might not have occurred had Anthony not been suspended. An ESPN SportsNation poll showed that most people concurred with the belief that the suspension helped spark the trade to get Iverson.^[34]

Anthony issued a statement and apology to his family, the league, and fans the following day. He also specifically apologized to Mardy Collins.^[35]

[edit] Steve Francis

Steve Francis claimed that the media reaction to the fight and the suspensions itself were "racially motivated".^[36] Francis argued that Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League had fights worse or equal to the Nuggets-Knicks altercation and rarely faced the type of media attention and scrutiny that the NBA received, despite the NHL's recent attempts to clean up its image^[37] in the wake of the Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi incident and the NFL's problems concerning gun ownership and drug smuggling. Major League Baseball brawls seldom resulted in actual violence, and in incidents in which fans and players or coaches were involved, such as the Chad Kreuter incident, the Frank Francisco incident, and the Tom Gamboa incident, have resulted in actual police arrests. Various journalists accused Francis of playing the race card^[38][39], while others agreed with his sentiments.^[40][41]

Michael Wilbon, in an article retrieved from MSNBC.com:

[edit] Nate Robinson

On Pardon the Interruption, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon compared Robinson to Stephen Jackson during the Pacers-Pistons brawl^[42], while New York Post sports columnist Peter Vecsey called for the NBA to "lock up Nate Robinson and throw away the key."^[43] NBADraft.net writer Nick Prevenas claimed Robinson was "cementing his status as one of the five craziest guys in the league"^[44], referring to Robinson's prior controversies, including attempting a trick dunk early in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the year on November 29.^[45] Robinson apologized for his actions and promised to control his aggression in the future.^[46] He added his grandmother expressed dismay at her grandson's behavior.^[47]

[edit] Other

Nenê and James were suspended for 1 game for leaving their respective benches, as they were not playing at the time the brawl began.^[48] Oddsmakers claimed that Thomas' role in the brawl made him the leading candidate among coaches to be removed after the season,^[49] though Thomas was actually given a contract extension near the end of the season. Martin Luther King III, in conjunction with the NBA Referees Association, called for a summit meeting to address and curb violence among NBA players.^[50]

[edit] See also

• Pacers-Pistons brawl
• National Basketball Association criticisms and controversies
• Violence in sports

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• NBA Rule Number 12: Fouls and Penalties