Entangled at the free-throw line after a missed shot in the fourth quarter, Andrea Bargnani of the Knicks and Kevin Garnett of the Nets seemed to exchange shoves before Garnett, no stranger to on-court confrontations, threw up his hands as if to say he did not want to fight.

The play, which briefly woke up a bored Barclays Center crowd during a Knicks blowout, earned both players technical fouls, and seemed to symbolize the way the two struggling New York basketball teams approached the second half of Thursday’s 113-83 Knicks win, with the Nets showing that in a battle of dysfunctional franchises, they are the team further from respectability.

On the play, Bargnani, a 7-footer from Italy known for his shooting rather than his tough play or fighting skill, was clearly the aggressor. A few minutes later, his trash-talking of Garnett after a 3-pointer was enough for Referee Joey Crawford to issue him a second technical foul, ending his night early. Bargnani was treated to a standing ovation by his teammates as he walked off the court.

“He held it down for us,” Carmelo Anthony said of the normally detached Bargnani. “He played well tonight.”