NBA News - Nuggets' Anthony Banned 15 Games in NBA Fight!

National Basketball Association scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was banned for 15 games and six other players on the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks also received suspensions for the teams' brawl in Saturday night’s game December 16.

New York's Nate Robinson and Denver's J.R. Smith, whose fight spilled into the front row of the stands, each were suspended for 10 games; Mardy Collins, who started the fight by intentionally fouling Smith, was banned for six games; New York's Jared Jeffries was suspended for four games; and Denver's Nene and New York's Jerome James each were given one-game suspensions, NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

The fight with 1:15 remaining in the Nuggets' 123-100 win was the worst in an NBA game since a brawl involving players and fans in suburban Detroit two years ago.

``It is our obligation to take the strongest possible steps to avoid such failures in the future and to make a statement to all who follow the game of basketball that we understand our obligations and take them seriously,'' Stern said in a news release.

Each team also was fined $500,000.

``If you continue to employ employees who engage in these actions, your organization is going to have to pay a price,'' Stern said on a conference call.

No action was taken against coaches Isiah Thomas of the Knicks or George Karl of the Nuggets. The New York Times said today that Thomas was under investigation for possibly instigating the fight.

``If I thought somebody were given a specific order to hurt another player, I would react differently, and I don't think that happened here,'' Stern said on the call.

Karl, who spoke to reporters during a morning practice, said ``there's no question, it's wrong,'' when told that Thomas received no suspension.

``It was directed by Isiah,'' Karl said.
Karl also blasted Thomas for claiming the Nuggets, who led comfortably before the fight, were trying to run up the score.

``I think his actions after the game were despicable,'' Karl said. ``He made a bad situation worse. I'll swear on my children's life that I never thought about running up the score.''

Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz declined to comment on the suspensions.

Both teams play at home tonight, the Knicks against Utah and the Nuggets against Washington.

The loss to Denver left the Knicks 9-17 for the season under Thomas, the team's president, who has been given the full campaign by owner James Dolan to produce improvement in the squad. Madison Square Garden has been less than full for several games this season and fans repeatedly have booed the home team's performance.

The fight included a punch to Collins's face by Anthony. No fans were involved and no injuries were reported.

NBA rules mandate at least a one-game suspension for a thrown punch, regardless of whether it connects. Anthony apologized last night, saying he let his emotions get the best of him.

``My actions were inexcusable and I am sorry for making this an even more embarrassing situation,'' Anthony said in the statement released by the Nuggets.

Anthony will lose $787,333 of his $4.7 million contract this season due to the suspension, while Robinson will be docked $137,333 and Smith $157,555.

Anthony, who leads the NBA with a 31.6-points-a-game average, is among the league's most visible players.

``We'll do what we have to do to help develop his career over the very long time that he has left in it, but he'll have to accept the consequences of his actions,'' Stern said on the call.

His absence also comes as the Nuggets (13-9), seventh in the Western Conference, consider trading for former Most Valuable Player Allen Iverson of Philadelphia.

Anthony, Smith, Eduardo Najera, Marcus Camby and Andre Miller were ejected for Denver, while Collins, Jeffries, Robinson, Channing Frye and David Lee were thrown out of the game for New York.

The fight was the first major altercation involving NBA players since the Nov. 19, 2004, melee at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan, involving the Pacers, Detroit Pistons and fans.

Stern suspended Indiana's Ron Artest for the remainder of the 82-game season (73 games) for entering the stands that night after being hit by a cup thrown by a fan following a clash of players.

Indiana's Stephen Jackson was banned for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal received a 25-game suspension later reduced to 15, Anthony Johnson was banned for five games and Pistons forward Ben Wallace was suspended for six.

The Knicks' most recent major scuffle was in January 2001, when Camby, then with New York, threw a punch at San Antonio's Danny Ferry. Camby missed on the punch, then butted heads with Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who sustained a cut above his left eye that required a dozen stitches.

Van Gundy's Knicks also had fights with the Miami Heat during the 1997 and 1998 playoffs.

In 1997, a brawl in Miami led to one-game suspensions for the Knicks' Larry Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Charlie Ward, Allan Houston and John Starks, while the Heat's P.J. Brown received a two-game ban. New York dressed only nine players for the final two games, both won by the Heat.

A year later, Johnson and Miami's Alonzo Mourning were suspended for two games for squaring off after battling for position under the Heat basket, then throwing punches.

Source from bloomberg.com