Two-time Olympian Carmelo Anthony served a one-game suspension handed down by the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday because coach George Karl tried to put him on the bench and he refused.

"In my mind, that crossed the line," Karl said.

Anthony wasn't with the Nuggets when they played against the Detroit Pistons.

"I saw him yesterday. I didn't see him today," Karl said on Tuesday. "I'll spend some time with him tomorrow."

The Nuggets had said they suspended Anthony for an "in-game transgression" on Sunday against Indiana, declining to provide details of what he did.

During a timeout against the Pacers, though, Karl said Anthony became the first player in his two-plus decades as a coach to stay on the court after being told he was being taken out of the game.

"There's a thin line between passion and an aggressive want to be on the court and emotional immaturity."

As productive as Anthony has been since the Nuggets drafted him No. 3 overall in 2003, his behavior has often been a problem.

The Nuggets suspended him for the first two games of this season, punishing him for getting arrested for drunken driving last spring while they were pushing for a playoff berth.

He was suspended for 15 games in the 2006-07 season for his involvement in the Nuggets' brawl with the New York Knicks when he landed a punch and ran away.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily March 5, 2009)