Randolph, Knicks Down Nuggets in Brawl Rematch

Nov 07, 12:15 AM

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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Zach Randolph scored 22 points and pulled down 17 rebounds as New York roared back to beat Denver, 119-112, in the first matchup between the two teams since an ugly brawl last season.

Down by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, the Knicks refused to give in. Stephon Marbury opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer before Renaldo Balkman converted a driving layup. Marbury then buried a running jumper to make it a one-possession game, 92-89.

Moments later the comeback was complete when Eddy Curry put back his own miss to deadlock things at 102 with just over five minutes left.

Things remained tight as the game headed toward the stretch. An Allen Iverson three evened the game at 108 with 2:47 remaining.

It was all Knicks from there as New York closed the game with an 11-4 burst, fueled by consecutive buckets from Jamal Crawford and Curry.

Crawford had a game-high 25 points and dished out eight assists for the Knicks, who won their second straight after dropping the season opener. Curry tallied 24 points and eight rebounds and Marbury had 21 points and nine assists.

"They (the Nuggets) are a good team, but these are games we have to have," said Crawford. "Respect your opponent but don't bow down to anyone. We all know our roles, we all know what to expect from the coach and he knows what to expect from us. Throw a guy like Zach Randolph in the mix and everything is better."

Allen Iverson netted 32 points and dished out five assists for the Nuggets, who lost their second straight after opening the season with a pair of wins. Carmelo Anthony chipped in with 24 points and nine assists while Linas Kleiza finished with 18 points.

"We look at one of these games as one we gave away," Anthony. "We had it in our hands but couldn't maintain the lead. They (the Knicks) played hard every possession. Maybe we took some possessions off and they capitalized. You can't take anything away from the effort they gave."

It was another embarrassing moment for the NBA during the Nuggets' 123-100 victory over the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on December 16 of last year. Denver had the game in hand and was headed towards victory late in the fourth quarter. However, Nuggets head coach George Karl still had some of his starters on the court, including star forward Carmelo Anthony, while New York had its reserves on the court to finish out the contest.

With Denver leading 119-100, New York's 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, as 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.

There were no fireworks on Tuesday unless you count the offense. Both teams were red hot from the start and the Nuggets raced out to a a 37-32 lead after the opening 12 minutes. Denver continued to hold a five-point edge at the half, 65-60.

The Knicks managed to even things at 82 when Crawford buried a pull-up jumper with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

But, Denver responded and closed the quarter with a 10-0 run to take back control. Anthony fueled the run with a layup and a pair of free throws.

Game Notes

Randolph has recorded three straight double-doubles for the Knicks...Crawford had led New York in scoring in each game this season...Last season, the Knicks and Nuggets split a pair of contests. Denver had won two in a row at New York...NBA Commissioner David Stern handed down significant suspensions for last year's brawl. Anthony received a 15-game suspension, Robinson and Smith were both suspended for 10 games, Collins got six, Jeffries received four and Nene and Jerome James both were suspended for one game. The Knicks and Nuggets were both fined $500,000 for the incident.

11/06 23:17:19 ET