The Denver Nuggets visited Madison Square Garden where they blew out the lowly Knicks. With a minute and a half left in the game, the Nuggets stole the ball and J.R. Smith broke out for what looked like an easy layup or dunk. One of the Knicks wrapped his arms around Smith’s neck as he went up for the shot and pulled him down violently. Both went tumbling past the hoop into the stands. Soon players from both teams joined and it turned into a full-fledged brawl. A more detailed description can be found here.
After the game, the Knicks blamed the Nuggets for running up the score, show-boating and keeping starters in with a 20-point lead. Coach Isiah Thomas agreed and defended his players in the altercation. He even confronted Carmelo Anthony at mid-court afterwards asking why he and fellow starter Marcus Camby were still in the game. Although I know Thomas knows very little about coaching, perhaps someone should let him know that the coach is generally the one who decides which players are on the floor at any given time. In short, Isiah Thomas is, has been and will always be a punk.
But he’s not the only one in this abomination. After everything appeared to be calming down, Carmelo Anthony jumped back into the fray and punched a Knick. Then he proceeded to back down the court as several Knicks went after him. Throw a punch and then run away. Carmelo Anthony is a punk. And he doesn’t play defense. And he’s a ballhog.
I expect a big crackdown on the players involved in this brawl. Anthony, Jared Jeffries, Smith, Mardy Collins and Nate Robinson will all receive multi-game suspensions, I suspect. Thomas should be fined and suspended, but I don’t see that happening. But that’s OK because he’s living in his own private hell in New York and will be fired before next season.