Knicks Get Their Revenge On Nuggets With Solid Victory

The Knicks found a better way to fight back against the Denver Nuggets. Zach Randolph had 22 points and 17 rebounds , three other players scored more than 20 points, and New York erased a series of double-digit deficits to win 119-112 last night in Denver's first trip to Madison Square Garden since last year's brawl.

Seemingly on the verge of being run off the floor in the same way they were before losing their cool 11 months ago, the Knicks instead blew by the Nuggets with a fourth-quarter rally, then held on behind huge plays from Randolph and Eddy Curry in their best outing since being paired together.

Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 25 points and Curry added 24, nine in the fourth quarter. Stephon Marbury had 21 and nine assists, and Renaldo Balkman led a spirited bench effort with 11 points.

Allen Iverson scored 32 points and Carmelo Anthony had 24 for the Nuggets, who led by as many as 15 and were still ahead by 10 going to the fourth quarter before dropping their second straight.

Iverson briefly had to leave the floor after bloodying his lip defending Marbury with under 2 minutes left, but everything else about the game was clean — unlike Denver's last trip here.

In that one, the Nuggets were 1:15 away from finishing up a 123-100 victory here last December 16 when Knicks reserve Mardy Collins took down J.R. Smith by the neck to stop a breakaway. Nate Robinson soon jumped in, and he and Smith tumbled into the front row while fighting. Anthony, leading the NBA in scoring at the time, dropped Collins with a punch and was suspended 15 games.

Seven players were suspended, and each organization was fined $500,000.