Mardy Collins returned to the Knicks' lineup after serving a six-game suspension and scored 11 points in 22 minutes.

It was the rookie guard's flagrant foul against Denver's J.R. Smith that triggered a brawl at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 16, resulting in the ejection of all 10 players on the court at the time and additional suspensions for teammates Nate Robinson (10 games), Jared Jeffries (four) and Jerome James (one).

"Anytime you sit out for a number of games, you always want to get back out there and play," Collins said. "The NBA decided that six games was enough, so I just had to deal with it. We're still short-handed at guard, so it's time for me to get some playing time, show people that I'm not that type of player, and I can actually play basketball the right way."

New York is 4-3 since the brawl.