Tonight, the Denver Nuggets make their first appearance at Madison Square Garden since last December’s famously ugly brawl, and my, how things have changed.

The brawl led to lengthy suspensions for Denver’s top scorers at the time, forwards Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. This hastened Denver’s deal with the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire Allen Iverson. The Knicks’ losses were less on the personnel front than the public relations one. Reserve guards Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith started the fight, and Nate Robinson, whose bravado escalated it, were suspended for six and 10 games, respectively. But the fracas was another calamity for a Knicks team that was in a downward spiral. The embarrassment led to another fugue of calls for Isiah Thomas’s ouster as team president of the Knicks.

Although no one is talking about a deep playoff run or anything of the sort, the Knicks looked like a credible NBA team in its first two games this season. It’s a stark contrast from last autumn, when the team got off to a 9–17 start, and it seemed as if yet another season had been rendered pointless before Christmas.

The biggest change in the Knicks since the brawl has been in Robinson’s play. Up until that point of his career, Robinson, a 5-foot-9-inch shooting guard, was something of a sideshow attraction. He had won the slam-dunk competition — but only after being allowed about a million do-overs during the 2006 All-Star game festivities, and that competition was typical of his game. He was capable of some profoundly exciting plays — he blocked a shot by Houston’s 7-foot-6-inch center Yao Ming — and he was an energetic player whose hustle always delighted the crowd.

But Robinson was the epitome of an inefficient player on a team that seemed to collect them. His shooting percentage was poor, and he constantly turned the ball over. At the time of his suspension, he seemed better suited for a role akin to Hawthorne Wingo (the last player off the bench to cement a victory) than he did at third guard.

Not anymore. Perhaps the suspension gave Robinson time to think critically about his career, but the numbers suggest that some sort of change occurred. Slowly but surely during last season, Robinson’s game began to improve. After shaking off the rust from his layoff, he began selecting his shots more efficiently. By the final month of the season, when injuries to the Knicks’ starting guards enabled him to play major minutes, he shot 45.2% from the field and 46.3% from behind the three-point circle. It was a marked improvement for a player who shot 40.7% and 39.7% on threes in his rookie season.

Another positive sign came after the season, when the diminutive guard (every story on Robinson has to use that adjective at one point) opted to go and play on the Knicks’ summer league team in Las Vegas. As a player with two pro seasons under his belt, this wasn’t required. But Robinson went, and played point guard for a good-looking squad.

He also played well in the preseason, and his momentum has carried into the first two games of the regular season. Consider his stats so far: In 43 minutes of action, Robinson has scored 29 points, while shooting 50% from the floor and 67% (six for nine) from behind the arc. In addition, he’s grabbed eight rebounds, stolen the ball twice, dropped three dimes (and that would be more if his teammates didn’t miss some easy shots), and he’s only turned the ball over twice.

While I don’t expect Robinson to keep hitting two out of every three shots from way downtown, the improvement here is considerable and sustainable. The interest that Robinson has shown in running the point has been especially encouraging, as the Knicks have plenty of two guards. Also, Robinson’s maturity has shown itself in other ways. Against Cleveland on Friday, he was the lone defender against a LeBron James breakaway. Instead of trying to prevent the basket with as hard a foul as possible, Robinson (who played cornerback for the University of Washington) simply wrapped up the superstar, making sure that James didn’t get a shot off and that both finished the play upright, with no possibility of injury.

Even when it seems that the old Nate Robinson rears his ugly head, there’s an explanation. In Sunday’s game against Minnesota, Robinson took a shot on a one-on-three fast break that was easily blocked by the T-Wolves’ Corey Brewer. But Robinson left the game immediately afterward and went to the locker room to tend to an injured hamstring, one that has him listed as day-to-day (he’s expected to play tonight, though). It’s entirely possible that Robinson simply took the shot to let go of the ball as his leg seized.

If Robinson’s fine play continues, then the Knicks will have another controversy on their hands: It might be time for Robinson to replace Stephon Marbury as the team’s starting point guard. Marbury’s play shows few signs of pulling out of a decline that began two seasons ago. But Marbury’s assist numbers are far better than Robinson’s. Against Cleveland, Thomas went with Robinson for a long key stretch of the fourth quarter; but against Minnesota, with Robinson ailing, Marbury got the key minutes. If Robinson’s assist numbers improve, there will be good reason to change roles.

But a “which teammate is better” disagreement is the kind of controversy every team should want. Save for a brief “start David Lee” movement last season, it’s the kind of dispute that the Knicks haven’t had to settle in a long time. Given all the publicity disasters that the team has weathered (the Larry Brown hiring and firing, the brawl, and the Anucha Browne Sanders lawsuit), it should be a great relief to have the spotlight only on the quality play of the team.

mjohnson@nysun.com