What was an altercation on November 19, 2004, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan two years before the one between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden?
Knicks–Nuggets brawl The Knicks–Nuggets brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 16, 2006. This altercation was the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since the Pacers–Pistons brawl two years before.
Jordan Rules The Jordan Rules were a defensive basketball strategy employed by the Detroit Pistons against Michael Jordan in order to limit his effectiveness on offense. Devised by Isiah Thomas in 1988, the Pistons' strategy was "to play him tough, to physically challenge him and to vary its defenses so as to try to throw him off balance." Sometimes the Pistons would overplay Jordan to keep the ball from him. Sometimes they would play him straight up, more often they would run a double-team at him as soon as he touched the ball to try to force him to give it up. And whenever he went to the basket, they made sure his path was contested. This strategy has also sometimes been employed against other prolific scoring guards. The Jordan Rules were an instrumental aspect of the rivalry between the "Bad Boys" Pistons and Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This style of defense limited players including Jordan from entering the paint and was carried out by Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer.