Mon, Dec 18, 2006 page20

• Nuggets, Knicks game erupts into brawl

  MADISON MAUL It started with a hand around J.R. Smith's neck and didn't stop until the fight had spilled into the crowd and all 10 players had been ejected

  • AP
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  Ten players, including NBA leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, were ejected for fighting during a wild brawl near the end of the Denver Nuggets' 123-100 victory over the Knicks in New York on Saturday night.

  All 10 players on the court at the time of the fight were tossed for their involvement in the ugly incident that spread across the court and spilled into the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

  Denver was leading 119-100 when Knicks guard Mardy Collins grabbed Denver's J.R. Smith around the neck as Smith was going in for a breakaway layup with 1:15 to play. Smith got up and jawed with Collins and New York's Nate Robinson jumped in to yell at Smith.

  

  The New York Knicks' Jared Jeffries grabs the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony by the throat despite being restrained by the Nuggets' Eduardo Najera at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.

  PHOTO: AP

  Anthony rushed in and pushed Robinson in the neck, and Robinson and Smith went flying into fans while fighting with each other. Anthony also appeared to throw a punch at Collins.

  New York's Jared Jeffries ran from the baseline toward Anthony near midcourt, but was tackled by a Denver player. The brawl stretched all the way down the other end toward the Nuggets' bench before security finally pulled Smith away.

  Anthony led Denver with 34 points and Marcus Camby added 24. Stephon Marbury scored 31 points for New York.

  Suns 105, Kings 98

  At Sacramento, California, Steve Nash and Phoenix overcame a slow start to tie a franchise record with its 14th straight win.

  Nash was held scoreless for nearly the entire first half as the Suns fell behind by double digits early before rallying. Nash finished with 16 points and 12 assists.

  Phoenix's streak matches the franchise record set from Dec. 1-30, 1992, en route to the team's last NBA finals appearance. The Suns will try to break the mark at home tomorrow night against Toronto.

  Celtics 106, Bobcats 100

  At Charlotte, North Carolina, Paul Pierce scored 35 points and hit the clinching jumper in the final minute to lead Boston to its fifth straight win.

  Pierce hit the go-ahead free throws with 2:06 left and a fadeaway 17-footer with 39 seconds remaining, part of a 10-0 run to give the Celtics a 102-97 lead.

  Al Jefferson added 22 points for the Celtics, who recovered after blowing a 12-point halftime lead. It's Boston's longest winning streak since it won seven straight in March last year.

  Gerald Wallace scored 31 points and Emeka Okafor added 12 points, 19 rebounds and tied his own team record with eight blocks for the Bobcats.

  Magic 81, Cavaliers 74

  At Orlando, Florida, Grant Hill scored 21 points and Dwight Howard added 14 points and 16 rebounds to help Orlando end a three-game losing streak.

  Darko Milicic had 12 points and nine rebounds, while reserve Travis Diener had 11 points and four assists for the Magic.

  Lebron James led Cleveland with 29 points, but the Cavaliers suffered a dismal shooting night, hitting only 36 percent of their shots.

  Bulls 106, Hawks 104, OT

  At Atlanta, Andres Nocioni hit a pair of free throws with 13.4 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Chicago over Atlanta.

  Nocioni scored five of his 24 points in overtime. Hinrich also had 24 points, Ben Gordon 23 and Luol Deng had 19 as the Bulls won for the 11th time in 12 games.

  Marvin Williams matched a career-high with 23 points and Joe Johnson, who missed four games with a right calf strain, also had 23 points for the Hawks.

  Heat 98, Grizzlies 90

  At Miami, Dwyane Wade, returning from a two-game absence, scored a season-high 41 points to help Miami hand Memphis its sixth straight loss.

  Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick each scored 20 points to lead Memphis, which has dropped nine of 10.

  Pau Gasol, playing his second game after missing the Grizzlies' first 22 due to a broken bone in his foot, scored 11 points in 17 minutes.

  Pistons 90, Nets 82

  At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Chauncey Billups had 27 points and 11 assists and Richard Hamilton added 26 points to lead Detroit.

  Hamilton hit a go-ahead 15-foot jumper to break an 82-all tie with 1:35 to play and then Billups banked in a shot and scored on a fastbreak to give the Pistons their eighth win in 11 games.

  Nenad Krstic had a season-high 27 points for the Nets, who lost their second game in as many nights. Jason Kidd added 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Vince Carter had 12 points on 5-of-21 shooting.

  In other games, it was: Mavericks 90, Hornets 79; Spurs 103, 76ers 98; Bucks 108, Timberwolves 104.
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