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Nuggets could lack star power when hosting Wizards

Dec 18, 2006 - 4:06 PM Washington (12-11) at Denver (13-9) 9:00 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) -- George Karl's decision to leave his key players on the court late in a blowout win may cost the Denver Nuggets for a while.

The Nuggets host the Washington Wizards, who are making their second stop of a four-game road trip, on Monday.

On Saturday in New York, Karl still had Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Marcus Camby and Andre Miller in the game with a 20-point lead and just over a minute left. That choice backfired when Smith was fouled hard by Knicks rookie Mardy Collins, triggering a wrestling match along the baseline between Smith and Nate Robinson.

After order appeared to be restored, Anthony decided to throw a sucker punch to the face of Collins, restarting the madness.

All 10 players on the court were ejected. The NBA could hand out its list of suspensions Monday. Anthony and Smith are facing a definite suspension since they both threw punches.

The Nuggets closed out their five-game road trip with a 2-3 mark.

Meanwhile, the Wizards opened their trek with a 147-141 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Gilbert scored a career-high 60 points, setting a franchise record. The 6-4 guard netted 16 points in the extra session and collected eight rebounds and eight assists.

Caron Butler had 27 points and Antawn Jamison followed with 25 and 13 rebounds for Washington, which shot 51 percent (44-of-87).

The Wizards beat the Nuggets, 120-91, on Wednesday. Arenas led his team with 34 points and Butler added 26.