ATLANTA — In his brief scuffle with Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore, 7-foot-3 Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis picked up his first-ever NBA technical foul Tuesday, but didn’t realize a fine comes along with it.
“It wouldn’t have changed anything if I knew it,’’ Porzingis said.
Porzingis’ respect from his teammates grew larger when Bazemore fouled Porzingis with 1:51 left, then tried to get up in his face. Porzingis went right back at him, and a visibly angry Carmelo Anthony and his teammates lunged forward to break up the potential fight that resulted in a double technical.
“You guys are more surprised than I was surprised,’’ Anthony said. “We’re going to do something about that tech to help him out a bit [financially]. He showed some grit out there. Someone walked up into your chest, you stand your ground. That’s what he did.’’
Said Robin Lopez: “Especially as a rookie, I haven’t seen him back down from anybody.’’
“I’m trying to be more aggressive,’’ Porzingis said. “That’s me, my nature. That stuff happens. It’s good to see my teammates had my back.’’
Porzingis dominated early, scoring six of the team’s first 12 points, including two monster putback dunks that hadn’t been seen since November.
“Finally, it’s been a while,’’ said Porzingis, who posted 17 points and 11 rebounds, four of which were offensive. “It means I was aggressive on the boards.’’
Ex-Knick Tim Hardaway Jr. and point guard Jerian Grant were on the court together for the first time this season. Hardaway, in Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer’s doghouse all season, made just his fifth appearance and first against the Knicks, playing 12 minutes and showing activity on defense.
Grant has had an up-and-down rookie season, but was trending upward after Sunday’s excellent showing against Atlanta when he had nine points and seven assists. On Tuesday, he played 10 minutes and didn’t score or have an assist.
Nevertheless, Grant told The Post his recent communications with coach Derek Fisher, a former Lakers point guard, have been huge.
“Talking to the coach more is helping, in practices and in games,’’ Grant said. “We’re communicating more and it’s helping me a lot. He’s helping me more and I’m asking more questions. He’s even coming to me at halftime and during timeout and that helps.’’ Fisher said he still “likes his future.’’