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NEW YORK - NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday and six other players were penalized as commissioner David Stern came down hard on both teams after the Nuggets and Knicks brawled at Madison Square Garden.
Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended. Stern fined each organization $500,000. But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night.
"The NBA and its players represent a game of extraordinary skill, athleticism and grace, and, for good or bad, set an example for the entire basketball world, on and off the court," Stern said in a statement.
Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith sparked the fighting, was suspended six games and Knicks teammate Jared Jeffries will miss four. Also, the Knicks' Jerome James and Denver's Nene were both penalized one game for leaving the bench area during the chaos.
Ten players were ejected after the fight, which started with 1:15 left in Denver's 123-100 victory. It was the NBA's scariest scene since the brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans in Detroit two years ago.
There was speculation Thomas would be penalized for his comments to Anthony. Stern acknowledged hearing about it, but said he relied only on "definitive information" when handing out punishments.
The punishments were announced before both teams were to play Monday night — New York at home against Utah; Denver at home against Washington.
Stern, taking the unusual step of announcing his ruling in a conference call, said the fines to the organizations are meant to show he is serious about cleaning up the game.
"It's a more general message that I'm going to start holding our teams accountable," Stern said.
Collins prevented Smith from an easy basket by grabbing him by the neck and taking him to the floor. Smith rose and immediately started jawing with Collins, and Robinson jumped in to pull Smith away. Anthony shoved Robinson away, and Robinson and Smith then tumbled into the front row while fighting.
Just as things appeared to be calming down, Anthony threw a hard punch that floored Collins, and New York's Jared Jeffries sprinted from the baseline toward halfcourt in an effort to get at Anthony, but was tackled by a Denver player.
By the time security had finally contained Smith, they were nearly at the opposite end of the court from where the fighting started.
"I was very disappointed," Stern said. "Clearly, we're not getting through or players in certain circumstances just don't want to be restrained. I would suggest that those players will not have long careers in the NBA."
Stern also made it clear he was annoyed by comments from Thomas and the Knicks that the problems were caused by the Nuggets still having four starters on the floor late in a blowout. The commissioner said the only response is to say "nothing, or B, this is not something of which we can be proud or condone. That's not what we're about and that's not the example that we're setting."
In Denver, Nuggets coach George Karl was irate with Thomas, who said Monday that Karl put his players in danger by leaving them on the floor too long. Karl accused Thomas of a "premediated" act, underscoring his disgust with the New York coach with expletives.
"It was directed by Isiah," he said during a shootaround. "I think his actions after the game were despicable. He made a bad situation worse. I'll swear on my children's life that I never thought about running up the score. I wanted to get a big win on the road."
"My team has had trouble holding leads at the end of games," he added. "I didn't want the score to get under 10 points because if it would've gotten under 10 points it would've had a negative feeling on my team."
Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended. Stern fined each organization $500,000. But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night.
"The NBA and its players represent a game of extraordinary skill, athleticism and grace, and, for good or bad, set an example for the entire basketball world, on and off the court," Stern said in a statement.
Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith sparked the fighting, was suspended six games and Knicks teammate Jared Jeffries will miss four. Also, the Knicks' Jerome James and Denver's Nene were both penalized one game for leaving the bench area during the chaos.
Ten players were ejected after the fight, which started with 1:15 left in Denver's 123-100 victory. It was the NBA's scariest scene since the brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans in Detroit two years ago.
There was speculation Thomas would be penalized for his comments to Anthony. Stern acknowledged hearing about it, but said he relied only on "definitive information" when handing out punishments.
The punishments were announced before both teams were to play Monday night — New York at home against Utah; Denver at home against Washington.
Stern, taking the unusual step of announcing his ruling in a conference call, said the fines to the organizations are meant to show he is serious about cleaning up the game.
"It's a more general message that I'm going to start holding our teams accountable," Stern said.
Collins prevented Smith from an easy basket by grabbing him by the neck and taking him to the floor. Smith rose and immediately started jawing with Collins, and Robinson jumped in to pull Smith away. Anthony shoved Robinson away, and Robinson and Smith then tumbled into the front row while fighting.
Just as things appeared to be calming down, Anthony threw a hard punch that floored Collins, and New York's Jared Jeffries sprinted from the baseline toward halfcourt in an effort to get at Anthony, but was tackled by a Denver player.
By the time security had finally contained Smith, they were nearly at the opposite end of the court from where the fighting started.
"I was very disappointed," Stern said. "Clearly, we're not getting through or players in certain circumstances just don't want to be restrained. I would suggest that those players will not have long careers in the NBA."
Stern also made it clear he was annoyed by comments from Thomas and the Knicks that the problems were caused by the Nuggets still having four starters on the floor late in a blowout. The commissioner said the only response is to say "nothing, or B, this is not something of which we can be proud or condone. That's not what we're about and that's not the example that we're setting."
In Denver, Nuggets coach George Karl was irate with Thomas, who said Monday that Karl put his players in danger by leaving them on the floor too long. Karl accused Thomas of a "premediated" act, underscoring his disgust with the New York coach with expletives.
"It was directed by Isiah," he said during a shootaround. "I think his actions after the game were despicable. He made a bad situation worse. I'll swear on my children's life that I never thought about running up the score. I wanted to get a big win on the road."
"My team has had trouble holding leads at the end of games," he added. "I didn't want the score to get under 10 points because if it would've gotten under 10 points it would've had a negative feeling on my team."
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