MSG Brawl Another Black Eye for the NBA

New York Knicks' Nate Robinson, second from left, and Denver Nuggets' J.R. Smith, right exchange words while teammate Carmelo Anthony looks on during a fight that broke out during the second half of basketball action at Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006. New York Knicks' Jared Jeffries, left, is restrained. Ten players, including NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony, were ejected for fighting during a brawl near the end of Saturday night's game between the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. All 10 players on the court at the time were tossed for their involvement in the ugly incident that spread across the court and spilled into the crowd at Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Frank Franklin Ii - AP)

"Last night's altercation with the Knicks escalated further than it should have. I take full responsibility for my actions in the matter," Anthony said in a statement. He apologized to fans, the Nuggets, the NBA, his own family _ and to Collins and his family.

"My actions were inexcusable, and I am sorry for making this an even more embarrassing situation," Anthony said.

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who took over for Larry Brown after one season, said he told Anthony that he and Camby shouldn't have been in the game after it was decided. A source in the league, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation into the brawl, said that Thomas also advised Anthony not to go near the basket shortly before the hard foul occurred.

Nuggets coach George Karl had just dispatched three players to the scorer's table to check in while the Knicks brought the ball up the floor. But before play stopped so they could check in, New York turned it over, starting Smith's fast break.

Two minutes earlier, Smith had thrown down a reverse dunk on the break, as both he and Anthony seemed trying to impress their group of fans. Smith is from New Jersey, and Anthony, who scored 23 points in the second half, is a New York native.

The Knicks weren't enjoying the show.

Robinson said the Knicks were "just trying to fight, come back from the deficit and they got their star players still in. It's a slap in the face to us as a franchise."

One of many this year.

It's been a miserable season for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, where they have been routinely booed while compiling a 4-10 record. And they were in the midst of their second straight beating _ Collins, in fact, committed a flagrant foul at the tail end of a 112-96 loss at Indiana on Friday night. The final score on Saturday was 123-100, Nuggets.

But while there is no excuse for their actions Saturday, nor is there any reason why Anthony should have had such a prominent role. Before the game, Karl was talking about his maturation as a player and a person, and Anthony was one of the captains of the U.S. team in the world championships.

The NBA has taken numerous steps to clean up its image after the fiasco in Detroit, implementing a dress code and its community relations initiative NBA Cares last season, and trying to eliminate excessive complaints to officials this season.

With Anthony appearing in marketing campaigns to promote the NBA, the league can't have him participating in an incident that's sure to trigger more discussions about all that is still wrong with its players.

Yet one player involved in the Pacers-Pistons fight in 2004 said all the attention to a couple of brawls is overblown. "Listen, the NHL lets them fight. Fights happen in baseball. Fights happen in football," Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal said. "Why are we under scrutiny about our game?"

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AP Sports Writer Steve Herman in Indianapolis contributed to this report.