Knicks–Nuggets brawl

Madison Square Garden, the site of the brawl
Denver Nuggets New York Knicks 123 100
1 2 3 4 Total Denver Nuggets 29 38 27 29 123 New York Knicks 22 32 30 16 100
Date	December 16, 2006
Venue	Madison Square Garden, New York City, U.S.
Referees	Dick Bavetta,Violet Palmer,Robbie Robinson
Attendance	19,763
Network	MSG Network (Knicks) Altitude Sports and Entertainment (Nuggets)

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

The fight began with aflagrant foul by KnicksguardMardy Collins on Nuggets guardJ. R. Smith in 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 wereejected after 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 Karl and Knicks coachIsiah Thomas were both scrutinized for their part in the brawl, while NuggetsforwardCarmelo Anthony was 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.

Entering the game, theNew York Knicks had a record of 9–17 while theDenver Nuggets sported 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 Anthony scored 34 points to lead the Nuggets, andcenterMarcus Camby added 24 points and 9rebounds;Stephon Marbury scored a season-high 31 points for the Knicks.^[4]

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 Collins fouled the Nuggets'J. R. Smith on afast break by slapping his arms around Smith's neck, knocking him to the floor; Collins was immediately whistled for aFlagrant 2 Foul by officialDick Bavetta, meaning Collins was to be immediatelyejected. As Smith stood up to confront Collins,Nate Robinson pulled Smith away, and then began pushing and shouting at him.David Lee tried 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][5]

As the fighting was seemingly coming to an end, Anthony confronted Collins and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.Jared Jeffries immediately 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 byNenê and 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 Kleiza made 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.

NBA CommissionerDavid Stern reacted 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.^[6][7] 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".^[8]

Several sportswriters said the brawl was not as violent as the Pacers–Pistons brawl two years before,^[9][10] and 81% of respondents in aSportsNation poll said the biggest difference between the two brawls was that it "didn't involve players going into the stands and fighting fans".^[11] 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".^[12] 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".^[13][14]

Steve Francis claimed that the media reaction to the fight and the suspensions itself were "racially motivated", arguing thatMajor League Baseball and theNational Hockey League had "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".^[15] This was echoed by several writers, and sportswriter-television personalityMichael Wilbon said that, "NBA players have endured more scrutiny, pertaining to image, than any other professional athletes in America".^[9][13]Martin Luther King III called 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".^[16]

Minutes before the brawl started, Knicks coachIsiah Thomas asked 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 Karl kept his team'sstarting players on 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".^[17] However, Karl responded by saying the brawl "was directed by Isiah".^[18]

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",^[19] but several writers criticized the NBA for not including Thomas in the suspensions.^{[13][18][20][21][22]}ESPN analystMarc Stein called Thomas' explanations of his comments "laughable",^[23] and commentatorGreg Anthony, a former Knicks player, said he "never had a coach say that to an opponent".^[24] It was also suggested that Thomas was attempting to resurrect the physical tactics of his former team, the"Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons.^[25][26]

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".^[27] However, several sportswriters criticized his decision, and some said that he should also have been penalized.^[27][28][29] 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.^[20][28][29] Karl was also blamed for putting his players in a position to start a fight.^[9][28]

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.^[30] At the time of the brawl, Anthony was the league's leading scorer;^[14] his suspension was also the longest of the players suspended, and the sixth-longest in NBA history.^[31] According to former NBA playerSteve Kerr, Anthony had "tarnished" his image,^[14] and basketball analystRic Bucher said that Anthony had "torched his own career".^[32]Sports Illustrated writer 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.^[33] An example of the backlash wasNorthwest Airlines pulling Anthony from its in-flight magazine cover, as it said it did not want "to condone the behavior of Anthony".^[34] 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.^[35]

A day after Anthony was suspended, Denver acquiredAllen Iverson, who was then second in the NBA in scoring behind Anthony.^[36] After Anthony and Smith returned from their suspensions, the trio led the Nuggets to 45 wins and the sixth seed in theWestern Conference for the2007 playoffs.^[37] However, they were eliminated in the first round by theSan Antonio Spurs.^[38] The Knicks finished 33–49, 12th in theEastern Conference, and did not make the playoffs.^[37]

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 Balkman andLinas Kleiza began 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.^[39] Balkman and Kleiza later became teammates^[40] after Balkman wastraded to the Nuggets in the 2008 off–season.^[41]

Sources^[42][43]

• Malice at the Palace
• National Basketball Association criticisms and controversies
• Violence in sports
• List of violent spectator incidents in sports
• Sparks–Shock brawl
• 2010 Acropolis Basketball Tournament brawl
• 2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl
• Philippines–Australia basketball brawl

• 2006–07 NBA season
• Brawls in team sports
• NBA controversies
• NBA games
• New York Knicks games
• Denver Nuggets games
• December 2006 sports events in the United States
• 2006 in sports in New York (state)
• Violence in sports
• Nicknamed sporting events

• Use mdy dates from January 2022
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Good articles