Van Gundy on Losing End of Camby Collision

N E W  Y O R K, Jan. 16 -- With his eye swollen partially shut and abandage covering at least a dozen stitches, Jeff Van Gundy said hisdays as a peacemaker are over.

From the looks of him, it appears to be a wise career decision.

Van Gundy came out on the losing end of a collision Mondaybetween his head and Marcus Camby's after Camby threw a suckerpunch at Danny Ferry late in the fourth quarter of New York's104-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

It was Van Gundy's first time in the middle of a dustup since hegrabbed hold of Alonzo Mourning's leg during a fight betweenMourning and Larry Johnson during the 1998 playoffs.

"I'm getting there," Van Gundy said. "Last time I got theirguy, this time I got my guy. Next time I'll stay the heck out ofthe way."

Van Gundy needed 12-15 stitches to close the cut over his eye.

Camby said he apologized to Van Gundy and his teammates on Monday, ESPN.com reported today (ESPN.com, like ABCNEWS.com, is owned by Walt Disney Co.)

Camby Faces Suspension

Camby, who faces a mandatory suspension under NBA rules forthrowing a punch, hung around the building for nearly an hourbefore finally being persuaded to leave. Only then did securityofficials allow Ferry to leave the locker room, escorting him tothe team bus.

"I'm sure he [Camby] would like to take it back," Spurs coachGregg Popovich said. "He's an intelligent guy."

David Robinson disagreed.

"It wasn't the smartest thing to do to hit his own coach,"Robinson said.

It was a strange ending to another dominant performance by theKnicks, who got 31 points from Allan Houston, 20 from Glen Rice and19 from Latrell Sprewell.

Winning for the ninth time in 10 games and holding theiropponent below 100 points for the 31st consecutive game, the Knickswere having one of their best all-around games of the season untillate in the fourth.

Waiting for Ferry After Game

Camby was poked in the eye by Ferry and was being restrained byhis teammates when he lunged after Ferry and threw a windmillpunch.