NEW YORK — A hard foul at Madison Square Garden. A tackle. A sucker punch. Suddenly, Nuggets coach George Karl was transported to Madrid 1989, the first time a basketball game blindsided him.
Then the coach of Real Madrid, Karl remembered sitting in the first row of his team’s facility. Tipoff was a few hours away. A man walked up to Karl and told him there was an accident. His star player, Fernando Martin, was dead.
“Other than the birth of my children,” Karl said, “it was the craziest three days of my life.”
As a coach, Karl knows he cares too much at times. Basketball becomes personal. So when the Nuggets- Knicks brawl erupted here last December, Karl was caught off guard.
“It was a psychological shock,” Karl said. “Other than my best player getting killed, I’ve never gone through something that psychological (in basketball). It was a mystery. For me, I didn’t know what to do.”
Tonight, the Nuggets return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since the infamous Dec. 16 brawl. That night, late in a Nuggets’ blowout win, the Knicks’ Mardy Collins flagrantly fouled Denver’s J.R. Smith. Players converged. Knicks guard Nate Robinson shoved Smith, leading to Smith tackling Robinson into the first rows under the basket. A brawl ensued during which Carmelo Anthony sneaked up on Collins and punched him, which led to Anthony’s 15-game suspension. Smith was suspended for 10 games.
The suspensions nearly derailed the Nuggets’ season in addition to besmirching the organization.
“I was embarrassed,” Karl said. “We were part of a black eye for basketball.”
Tonight’s early-season game calls for a forecast featuring showers of boos. The first hard foul will likely make everyone brace for a moment.
“I think we put it behind us from a standpoint of anger and revenge,” Karl said. “I think we’re going to be professionally tuned up to play basketball.
“I’m hoping it’s a motivated game, motivated by the past, pride and the beginning of the season, when we want to establish ourselves as a good road team.”
In an ironic twist, tonight is the first game this season that Smith can play. The shooting guard was suspended by the Nuggets (2-1) for the first three games due to his involvement in a nightclub altercation.
“I’m just eager to get back,” said Smith, who went to high school in nearby Newark, N.J. “It’s going to be a crazy atmosphere. Everybody and their mama is going to be in the stands.”
Anthony apologized to the Knicks soon after the fight a year ago. He said he has spoken to Collins since the fight. “It was just a heat-of-the-moment thing,” Anthony said. “We spoke, but I don’t really have anything against him, and he don’t have anything against me.”
Anthony said he has seen Robinson a few times, as well; Smith has not spoken to any current Knicks.
“I’m not going to speak to any of them – they’re not on our team,” Smith said. “If they want to come and speak to me, I’ll speak to them back. It’s not personal. I’m just going in there, trying to get a ‘W.’ It’s a business trip.”
The Nuggets could use some offensive spark from Smith tonight after sputtering in a home loss to New Orleans on Sunday. Smith averaged 13.0 points per game a season ago, starting 24 games, but he’ll come off the bench tonight if he plays.
The Nuggets will be without power forward Kenyon Martin, whom Karl said will play only at Boston and Indiana during this four-games-in-five-days road swing. Karl doesn’t want Martin playing back-to-back games so soon after coming back from a severe knee injury.
Karl and the Nuggets hope the passion from the brawl will fuel their competitive fire without leading to any mischief.
“I love playing in Madison Square Garden,” center Marcus Camby said. “I think that’s the best arena to play in if you’re an athlete. It’s going to be exciting. Everyone remembers what happened last year.”
DENVER AT NEW YORK
5:30 p.m. tonight, ALT, KKFN 950 AM
Spotlight on Eddy Curry: The New York center had a breakout season last season, averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds and making 57.6 percent of his shots. He now makes up half of a daunting low-post tandem, thanks to the acquisition of power forward Zach Randolph. In the Knicks’ win Sunday against Minnesota, Curry had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Randolph notched 15 and 10, respectively.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets: Guards Chucky Atkins (groin) and Anthony Carter (hand) will not play tonight. The status of guard Mike Wilks (hamstring) will be a game-time decision. … Center Marcus Camby has 20 or more rebounds in the past two games, the first time he accomplished the feat since 2001-02, when he played for the Knicks. … Camby’s Cambyland Foundation will host a dinner at Il Posto tonight for “Marcus’ Mentors,” young students participating in a tutoring program in the Denver Public Schools.
Knicks: In a 97-93 victory over the Timberwolves on Sunday, six Knicks scored in double figures, led by Jamal Crawford’s 24 points. … Last season, Knicks guard Stephon Marbury averaged 20.5 points and 7.0 assists against the Nuggets.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
