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The physical war was over,
but the verbal battle had just begun Monday.
After the combatants from
the brawl between Denver and New York on
Saturday night at Madison Square Garden had been suspended, the accusations
began to fly.
The chief accuser was
Nuggets coach George Karl, who blames Knicks counterpart Isiah
Thomas for precipitating the incident.
“He’s full of (crap),” Karl
fumed to the Rocky Mountain News. “He’s a total (butt) hole and he should
be held accountable for what his actions are.
“There’s no question in my
mind it was premeditated. It was directed by
Isiah.”
Thomas accused Karl of
running up the score by keeping his starters in the game despite holding a
19-point lead with just over a minute remaining.
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The incident began after a
hard foul by New York’s Mardy Collins on
Denver’s J.R.
Smith, who was driving to the basket.
Denver star and NBA
leading scorer Carmelo Anthony received the longest suspension of 15
games for punching Collins. Anthony’s agent, Calvin Andrews, said his
client told him that Thomas made threats seconds before the fight. Andrews
claimed Anthony was warned by Thomas, “You and your teammates better not go to
the hole (because) you might get hurt.”
Thomas denied the
accusations.
If both teams were
devastated by the suspensions Monday night, they didn’t play like it. When
Denver needed a
big performance, the smallest man in the NBA stepped up. Backup point guard
Earl Boykins scored 29 points and slid his 5-foot-7 frame underneath for
seven rebounds in a 117-108 defeat of Washington despite the absence of Anthony and
Smith. Starting point guard Andre Miller added 27
points.
And with Collins, Nate
Robinson, Jerome James and Jared Jeffries all suspended, the
Knicks edged visiting Utah, 97-96, in overtime. Thomas used
Channing Frye, David Lee, Jamal Crawford and Stephon
Marbury for at least 44 minutes apiece.
The latter responded the
best. After his 31-point performance Saturday night was overshadowed by the
brawl, Marbury contributed 29 points and eight assists against the Jazz, while
Lee added 17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
RISING
SUNS: How torrid is Phoenix? The Suns
are heavy favorites to extend their winning streak to 15 Tuesday night
against invading Toronto.
The Raptors have won three
consecutive games despite the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Chris
Bosh, yet they are a 13.5-point underdogs, according to WagerWeb.com.
The Suns are averaging 112.2
points during their 14-gane winning streak. They have exceeded 100 points in 10
of their last 11.
DRIBBLES: New
Jersey remains one of the league’s biggest
disappointments, but at least center Nenad Krstic has begun to play well.
Krstic followed a 27-point performance in a loss to Detroit on Saturday night with a 26-point, 14-rebound
effort in a win over Golden State on Monday night. … High-scoring
Jason Richardson has returned from injury for the Warriors. He scored six
points in the loss to the Nets. … Second-year forward Jason Maxiell has
emerged as a threat for Detroit. He registered nine points, five
rebounds and three blocked shots Saturday night in New
Jersey, then added 17 points, 14 rebounds and the game-winning
basket Sunday night against Seattle.
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