BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The crowd was hostile, angry and on edge, loudly voicing venom even before the game began. The black adorned not just the colors worn by the Brooklyn fans, but also the mood. And the two desperate teams were willing to play in that foul mood, too.

Fans of both the Knicks and Nets filled the Barclays Center, neither fan base particularly thrilled with the team it supported. The nationally televised game was supposed to be a battle for New York—but it was really a fight for what little pride was left—and with a 113-83 win on Thursday, the game showed that for a night the Knicks at least had that.

They had fight. It wasn’t exactly Ali-Frazier — and maybe not even enough to elicit anything other than laughter from boxer Zab Judah at courtside. But in his own way, Andrea Bargnani stood up for himself, trying to stand as Kevin Garnett pushed against him.

The soft-spoken, soft-playing 7-footer and Garnett, the surliest, Honey-Nut Cheerio-touting, trash-talker in the NBA, each drew a technical for their confrontation early in the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, after Bargnani drained a corner jumper over Garnett and started jawing at him as the two headed to the other end of the court, Bargnani was ejected.

Garnett said he wasn’t sure what Bargnani said, noting, “I don’t speak Italian.” Bargnani wouldn’t explain, other than to note, “I wasn’t speaking Italian.” But it was the first time in his life that he was thrown out of a game, and was a fitting symbol for the spark and fire that the Knicks showed with their backs against the wall.

“With a win like this, we definitely get our confidence back and get our mojo, our swag back,” Amar’e Stoudemire said. “Which would be great for us.”

VIDEO: Bargnani, Garnett tangle, each draw technical

VIDEO: Bargnani ejected for trash talking

SMITH: Bargnani never backed down from Garnett when he was with Raptors

If the Knicks were laughingstocks, as Carmelo Anthony characterized them a day earlier, for one night they at least got the last laugh at the expense of the Nets. Brooklyn, on the other hand, was left with no fight and nothing to smile about.

When the teams were introduced the home crowd reserved its loudest voice for the introduction of Nets head coach, Jason Kidd. The boos echoed through the cavernous arena: some from Knicks fans as payback for his abrupt retirement, but also undoubtedly from Nets fans as a payback for the miserable start to the season and also for the ugly divorce with associate head coach Lawrence Frank.

While Kidd openly recruited Frank, his former coach, the pairing ended in a way that it might have been hard to imagine — although it’s not over with lawyers readying to negotiate a buyout and Frank left with a role just short of firing (filling out daily reports). If Kidd is reading them, he might not want to open the one on this game — and Frank might want to point out that the defence has been more dreadful since he was thrown off the bench.

Mike Woodson can understand the troubles. When Woodson began his coaching career, he started with four straight losses and after 16 games had guided his Atlanta Hawks to a 2-14 record. What experience has taught him is that better times will come — if you’re around to enjoy them.

“This is 30 years in this business,” Woodson said. “I’ve seen a lot over the time that I’ve been as a player and coach. I’ve seen streaks like this. It’s not fun. But these players can’t see me panic.”

Kidd wasn’t shaking either, still confident in his abilities and, he insisted, in his team. Kidd might have the better chance of a full recovery this season, as the Nets have been nursing an assortment of injuries that led to their planned starting five on the floor together for just 78 minutes this season. But that’s easier to think about later in your coaching career — not now when it is all imploding around you.

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“I’m learning to be a coach,” Kidd said. “It’s just about putting those guys in the right position to win and then having fun doing that. Sometimes when we’ve lost it can take that fun away.”

This game didn’t make it better for the Nets and Kidd. The Knicks led from start to finish — the more desperate team on a night when both sides should have played as if careers depended on it. Maybe only Woodson has that hanging over him, with rumors of his demise growing louder as the Knicks ticked off loss after loss until it reached nine straight heading into this game and coaching candidates already being sorted in the press. Kidd threw Frank overboard, creating a scapegoat for a day, but with the Knicks the blame has landed squarely on Woodson.

“It’s not easy coaching,” Woodson said. “I don’t care if it’s your first year or your 20th year coaching in the league. It’s tough.”

With Woodson’s job on the line, it might have been saved by the player he has buried more than any other, Iman Shumpert. The third-year guard played with a fire not seen since the playoffs last season — and a shooting touch that hadn’t been visible since then either. Shumpert and Andray Blatche drew double technicals early in the game. And by the end, even Bargnani was joining in.

The Knicks came with a desperation. The Nets acted as if it was just another night. Maybe Kidd has the security, even as a rookie coach, to feel that way. As a player he believed in himself and he proved himself enough that his teammates would believe, too, including season with the Knicks. As a coach?

“You never really know until you get into the fire of it,” said Kidd’s longtime teammate, Kenyon Martin. “Handling the game, yeah, but guys having your back and respecting you as a head coach—a lot of them guys he played against over the years. I don’t know if that’s a factor.”