A large portion of the pro-Knicks crowd at Barclays Center stood up and cheered as Andrea Bargnani walked off the court with 8:23 left after his first NBA ejection for jawing with trash-talk king Kevin Garnett.
More impressive was as the 7-foot Italian headed for the tunnel after his second technical, the Knicks players on the court and bench were on their feet clapping too.
Bargnani had stood up to Garnett, and all seemed right again in the Knicks’ world. It was another bonus to Thursday’s 113-83 destruction of the Nets.
Bargnani had set the tone of the evening with a monstrous driving dunk down the right baseline and then ended it in style with an ejection that earned him major kudos in the giddy Knicks’ locker room.
“We need him to get upset like that,’’ J.R. Smith said. “We need him to get engaged. He played great but it was the wrong referee [Joey Crawford] making the call.’’
Bargnani had a super smooth outing, blocking Nets center Brook Lopez twice in the opening minutes and unleashing his silky smooth jumper on the other end. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting with three blocks. But his grappling and jawing with Garnett was refreshingly out of character.
“He held it down for us,’’ said Carmelo Anthony, whose profane battle with Garnett cost the Knicks a game last season against the Celtics. “He played well. He got kicked out when he didn’t think he was supposed to. Sometimes you got to do that. Tonight he was the sacrificial lamb. He got kicked out tonight, but it might have been worth it.’ ’’
It began with 9:12 left when Bargnani and Garnett became entangled and both tried grabbing each other’s jersey on the way down and pushing as they tried to get up. They each received technicals.
That wasn’t the end of it. Less than a minute later, Bargnani, after draining a 21-foot catch-and shoot, started yapping at Garnett on the way back downcourt. Crawford blew his whistle and sent Barngani to the showers with the Knicks up 30 points.
Bargnani said he was speaking English. But when Garnett, who had six points, was asked what Bargnani had said, he cracked, “I don’t understand Italian.’’
Bargnani had the last laugh, though.
“We were both talking,’’ he said. “There is no point to talking about it. We were both talking. I got ejected. I was far away from Joey. He just pointed.’’
It clearly wasn’t a subject Bargnani wanted to discuss. Unfortunately, his career in Toronto was marked by criticism he was too detached and not fiery enough.
“It’s not important,’’ Bargnani said. “The game is important and that we won. We got to use this positive energy and start building. I don’t think you can be happy about an ejection but we got the game. My ejection was just part of the game. The most important thing is we played great.’’
Amar’e Stoudemire tipped his gray fedora to Bargnani.
“He’s very aggressive and is playing well so his energy shows out there,’’ he said.
Indeed, Bargnani was a major threat, capitalizing on the Knicks’ terrific ball movement. He was 5-of-6 in the first half and banged in an 18-foot jumper on the Knicks’ first possession, as they hit 12 of their first 14 shots. Soon after, he drove the right baseline for a monster right-handed slam that had the players on the bench out of their seats howling.
When asked if he liked Bargnani’s fight, coach Mike Woodson said he sure did.
“That’s how we got to be to get out of this hole,’’ Woodson said.