DENVER — Mike Woodson can joke about it now, but he also defended himself Friday regarding the heated incident between him and Jason Kidd during the 2009-10 season for which the then-Hawks coach was assessed a technical foul.
The wily Kidd, then playing for the Mavericks, charged into Woodson with his elbow as he dribbled up the left sideline, proving to the referees Woodson was actually a couple of feet into the court – which is considered interference.
Woodson was reminded of the bump during the Knicks’ shootaround at Pepsi Center — ahead of Friday night’s game against the Nuggets — in the wake of Kidd’s chicanery while coaching the Nets in Wednesday night’s loss to the Lakers. Kidd, who was out of timeouts, intentionally threw a soda cup onto the court, so his team could draw up a late play as the spill was cleaned.
Kidd was fined $50,000 by the NBA for the maneuver. But it was Woodson who had to ante up after the Kidd contact in 2010.
Woodson has a long memory, and they teased each other about the incident on the first day of training camp last season when Kidd joined the Knicks. Woodson appeared to be joking when he said, “I got a piece of him back last year at camp.”
Footage from the time shows Woodson irate at Kidd, jawing at him and trying to get at him.
“It was a smart move, but at the end of the day, when the contact occurred, I was out of bounds,’’ Woodson said. “It should’ve been our ball. It was a smart move. He changed the whole dynamics of the game.’’
The Mavericks were trailing 97-95 with 1:37 left when Woodson picked up the T. The Mavs ended up winning.
Carmelo Anthony said the cup incident demonstrates Kidd’s feisty competitive spirit.
“That goes to show you what kind of person he is,’’ Anthony said. “He’ll do whatever he has to do to win.  He protects his team.’’