Two developments occurred at the Garden for the first time this season — one seen, one heard. When Andrea Bargnani left the court in the final minute Sunday night, he received a huge ovation from the Garden crowd.
That was because the fans witnessed Bargnani playing like an animal on the defensive end, blocking four shots, grabbing eight boards to go along with his deft shooting that added up to 26 points and four assists.
Behind Bargnani’s ferocity, the Knicks blocked 14 shots — one off the team record — in beating the Sixers 101-91 at the Garden, ending their nine-game slide and moving them to 15-62.
“I more so saw the eight rebounds and four blocks than the points — he can score points,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “If he’s rebounding that way and using his size to block shots, it makes us a better team.”
Asked why that has been such an infrequent occurrence, Fisher said, “He’s a big a lot of times guarding forwards away from the basket. But he’s been good on bigger guys.’’
The Knicks will consider bringing Bargnani back because of his offensive talent, but aren’t planning to use their cap space to do so. If they can get him back for the veteran’s minimum, he’ll surely be a Knick next season. But another team may outbid them on the free-agent market.
“He’s an extremely talented player and the injuries limited him reaching his ceiling,’’ Fisher said. “Whatever the future holds, the way he’s finishing the season is not only showing us, but other teams as well, he’s a very capable player at this point and trying to prove that to everyone, including us. If he’s back, that’s great. If not, he’ll do great no matter the situation.’’
Bargnani, who shot 8-of-15, said his defensive tenacity showed “nobody is giving up.’’
Jason Smith also had four blocks and Lou Amundson three.