Nuggets host Wizards

On Saturday, ten players, including NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony, were ejected from the Nuggets’ 123-100 win over the New York Knicks Saturday night after a brawl late in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden.

The Nuggets had the game in hand and were headed towards victory late in the fourth quarter. However, Denver head coach George Karl still had some of his starters on the court, including Anthony, while New York had its reserves on the court to finish out the contest.

With Denver leading 119-100, New York rookie Mardy Collins committed a hard flagrant foul against J.R. Smith on a breakaway layup with about 1:15 left in the contest. Chaos then broke out.

Smith and Knicks guard Nate Robinson started to wrestle and both went onto the ground. Anthony lost his cool and blindsided Collins with a punch that seemed to knock the rookie to the ground. Knicks forward Jared Jeffries went after Anthony, who backpedaled towards his bench and away from Jeffries.

All 10 players who were on the court were ejected from the contest. Suspensions for the incident could be handed down by the league sometime on Monday.

Anthony finished with 34 points un the win over New York for the Nuggets, who snapped a two-game skid. Marcus Camby added 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, while Smith chipped in 13 points.

Denver, which begins a five-game homestand this evening, is 6-4 at home this season. The Nuggets will also host Phoenix, Sacramento, Boston and Seattle on the current stand.

Washington has won three in a row and plays the second of a four-game road trip. On Sunday, All-Star Gilbert Arenas scorched the Lakers for 60 points, a franchise-record, and scored 16 of Washington’s 21 points in overtime as the Wizards outlasted Los Angeles, 147-141, at the Staples Center.

Caron Butler scored 27 points in the win over LA for Washington, which also got 25 points and 13 boards from Antawn Jamison. DeShawn Stevenson finished with 15 points in the victory.

The Wizards are just 3-8 on the road this season. They will visit Sacramento on Thursday and Phoenix on Friday.

This is the second and final time the teams will meet this season. On December 13th, Arenas scored 23 of his 34 points in the first half as the Wizards crushed the Nuggets, 120-91, at the Verizon Center.

Washington has won two in a row in this series. The Wizards have won six of their last nine at Denver.