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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- Marcus Camby threw a punch at Danny Ferry and
Jeff Van Gundy got in the way. The coach got the worst of it, and
Camby hung around Madison Square Garden for nearly an hour after
the game looking for more.
On a bizarre afternoon when a blowout turned into a brawl, Van
Gundy ended up needing 15 stitches to close a cut above his left
eye after his head collided with Camby's late in the fourth quarter
of New York's 104-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
"He got the shot in that every one of our players would like to
do to me. He just got a free one," Van Gundy said afterward, his
eye badly swollen and partially covered by a bandage.
Camby, who had been poked in the eye by Ferry, was ejected for
throwing a punch, while Van Gundy was led bloodied and dazed back
to the locker room for treatment.
After the game, Camby stood outside the San Antonio locker room
for 10 minutes until Knicks officials -- including president Dave
Checketts, general manager Scott Layden, forward Larry Johnson and
several security officers -- persuaded him to leave. Camby then went
downstairs to the area where the Spurs' bus was idling and spent
another 20 minutes waiting for Ferry as team officials continued to
try to calm him down.
Camby was finally persuaded to leave, and nearly a dozen
security officers then escorted Ferry to the team bus.
"We were banging around the whole game," Ferry said. "I don't
remember doing anything to lead to something like that."
It was a strange ending to another dominant performance by the
Knicks, who got 31 points from Allan Houston, 20 from Glen Rice and
19 from Latrell Sprewell.
|  | | The Knicks' Latrell Spewell drives around San Antonio's Ira Newble. |
Winning for the ninth time in 10 games and holding their
opponent below 100 points for the 31st consecutive game, the Knicks
were having one of their best all-around games of the season until
late in the fourth.
Camby was poked in the eye by Ferry and was being restrained by
his teammates when he lunged after Ferry and threw a windmill
punch.
"He poked me in the eye, bloodied me up," Camby, still
emotional, told Johnson in the hallway outside San Antonio's locker
room. "I wasn't going to hit him until I saw the blood in my
eye."
The punch did not hit anybody, but Camby collided with Van Gundy
as the coach jumped between them -- much like Van Gundy did in a
fight between the Knicks' Larry Johnson and the Heat's Alonzo
Mourning during the 1998 playoffs.
Van Gundy stayed down for about a minute before getting up,
blood dripping down his face.
"I'm getting there," Van Gundy said. "Last time I got their
guy, this time I got my guy. Next time I'll stay the heck out of
the way."
Camby faces a mandatory suspension under NBA rules for throwing
a punch.
Houston, Sprewell and Rice each shot over 50 percent while Camby
blocked six shots and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who were
coming off a 15-point victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on
Saturday.
"I thought that was our best game of the year," Van Gundy
said. "Our guys were really ready and that's what the focus should
be on."
Houston scored 11 points in the first quarter, including two
3-pointers in the first 3:40, and the Knicks took their first
double-digit lead on an alley-oop dunk by Camby with 3:11 left in
the first half.
New York closed the second quarter with a 6-0 run to open a
15-point lead, then played nearly flawlessly in the third. Camby
blocked four shots in the quarter, which ended with New York
holding an 85-61 lead.
Houston hit the first basket of the fourth, and the lead was up
to 24 when a yo-yo was thrown on the court. Chris Childs of the
Knicks picked it up and played with it before passing it off to a
referee in what turned out to be the last lighthearted moment of
the game.
Camby went after Ferry a few minutes later with the score 99-79.
David Robinson shot 1-for-11 from the field and Tim Duncan was
0-for-7 from the foul line for the Spurs, who shot only 39
percent.
Game notes
The Knicks hosted a Martin Luther King Day matinee for the
19th consecutive year and won for the 18th time. ... Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich was ejected early in the third quarter. Assistant
coach Hank Egan took over. ... New York improved to 10-5 against
teams from the West, while San Antonio dropped to 10-5 against the
East. ... The Knicks are 17-1 when scoring 90 points or more. ...
The Knicks swept the season series.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 104
San Antonio 82
Milwaukee 101
Washington 95
Philadelphia 84
Charlotte 79
New Jersey 84
Atlanta 78
Sacramento 116
Dallas 105
Boston 107
Minnesota 102
Cleveland 107
Golden State 101
Indiana 89
LA Clippers 74
Orlando 113
Chicago 104
LA Lakers 113
Vancouver 112
Denver 122
Seattle 111
Utah 116
Houston 104
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Marcus Camby knows he was "in the wrong."
wav: 182 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Danny Ferry never saw Marcus Camby's punch coming.
wav: 388 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jeff Van Gundy talks about his role of mediator when it comes to fighting.
wav: 85 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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