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Nuggets return to scene of December brawl

Nov 6, 2007 - 2:09 PM Denver (2-1) at New York (1-1) 7:30 pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- When the Denver Nuggets last visited Madison Square Garden, the repercussions were felt throughout the NBA.

The Nuggets begin a four-game road trip through the Eastern Conference when they meet the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

On December 16, 2006, in the final minutes of a 123-100 blowout win over New York, Denver coach George Karl elected to keep four starters in the game with just over a minute remaining. During a break, Knicks coach Isiah Thomas warned Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony that Denver should be wary of driving to the basket.

Shortly thereafter, then-New York forward Mardy Collins took ex-Denver guard J.R. Smith down by the neck on a drive into the lane, leading to a confrontation between the two. Knicks guard Nate Robinson jumped in to pull Smith away but was pushed away by Anthony, and Robinson and Smith then tumbled into the front row of seats while fighting.

As the fireworks looks to be subsiding, Anthony landed a punch that on Collins that escalated the emotions. All in all, ten players were ejected and seven were suspended, including Anthony for 15 games.

Less than three days after the incident, the Nuggets traded for Philadelphia guard Allen Iverson to make up for some of the scoring that was lost when Anthony was suspended. In the 48 regular-season games since Denver were able to pair up Anthony and Iverson for the first time on January 22, the Nuggets are 27-21.

The Knicks will be looking to win two of three games to open the season for the first time since the 2000-01 season - the last campaign they were able to manage a winning record.