STAMFORD, Conn. -- New York Knicks center Kurt Thomas was ordered to stay away from his wife and home at his arraignment Tuesday on charges he assaulted her during an argument over a laptop computer.

	Thomas

Thomas did not enter a plea to charges of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and risk of injury to a minor, a felony.

Police say the 6-foot-9, 235-pound player assaulted his wife, Amber Thomas, while she was holding the couple's child. Kurt Thomas' lawyer denied the accusation.

''During the argument he grabbed her around the neck and pulled on her arm while she held their 2-year-old daughter,'' Greenwich police said in a statement. ''She refused medical treatment.''

The girl was not injured, police said. Two other children Amber Thomas has from a previous marriage were not home at the time, said her lawyer, Gary Cohen.

The protective order prevents Thomas from entering the couple's home in Greenwich, where the alleged assault took place Monday, or having any contact with his wife. He will be allowed to go home one more time with a police escort to get his belongings.

Lawyers said the couple is getting a divorce after about two years of marriage. Thomas declined to comment after the arraignment.

''I wish him the best. This is traumatic,'' Amber Thomas said.

Cohen said Thomas became angry when his wife said she did not know the whereabouts of his computer.

''The anger escalated from verbal abuse to physical contact. Mrs. Thomas did suffer some physical injuries,'' Cohen said.

Thomas sat in court with a woman identified by Cohen as Sylvia Gonzalez, the couple's housekeeper. Gonzalez and Amber Thomas were charged last weekend with disorderly conduct after a dispute over the children.

''She was cursing at my children,'' Amber Thomas said. ''She had no control over the children.''

Gonzalez declined to comment.

The 29-year-old Thomas did not accompany the Knicks for the start Tuesday of training camp in South Carolina. He was one of the team's most dependable players last season, when the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

He averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds, playing in all 82 games.