The Denver Nuggets' hottest property Carmelo Anthony has received the lengthiest suspension of all players who were involved in the wild brawl that occurred between the Nuggets and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday (AEDT).

Anthony, who has been by far and away the Nuggets best player for the season, copped a 15-match suspension for shoving the Knicks' Nate Robinson and delivering a right-hand punch to the face of Mardy Collins.

Anthony's team-mates JR Smith and Hilario Nene received 10- and one-match suspensions, respectively, while for the Knicks, Robinson (10 matches), Collins (six), Jared Jeffries (four) and Jerome James (one) will all be missing action for their involvement.

"The NBA and its players set an example for the entire basketball world, on and off the court," NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

"While we have worked diligently to eliminate fighting from our game, there are failures such as Saturday night that demonstrate there is more to be done."

"It is our obligation to take the strongest possible steps to avoid such failures in the future."

On top of the myriad of suspensions that were dished out by the league, both clubs were fined $500,000 each.

This incident comes just two years after the ugly melee that took place between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons which saw players fighting with spectators.

On that occasion, nine players were banned for more than 140 matches, including the harshest ever penalty handed out to an individual for involvement in a fight in the game's history with the Pacers' Ron Artest suspended for 73 matches.