Knicks coach Derek Fisher was long gone by the time the Knicks stopped Kobe Bryant from any more Garden glory and survived a 99-95 nail-biter against the Lakers and their large coterie of purple-and-gold fans cheering madly for the NBA legend.
Fisher got kicked out with 7:11 left in the third after being hit with two technicals for a profane tirade toward referee Marc Davis, who called rookie Kristaps Porzingis for a touch foul on a corner 3-pointer by Bryant.
It was Porzingis’ third foul, sending him to the bench. Fisher lost it but the Knicks won it. In their first game not against a 2014-15 playoff club, they snapped their three-game losing streak and posted their season’s first win at the Garden to move to 3-4.
No, there was no more magic left in Bryant’s act. Associate coach Kurt Rambis, who once played for, then coached the Lakers and whose wife works for the organization, became the Knicks bench leader for the final 19 minutes as the Knicks shut down Bryant late and went on an 11-0 run to rally from a 90-87 deficit.
Bryant, who was cheered for much of the matinee during what likely was his final game at the Garden, finished with 18 points on another underwhelming shooting night — 6 of 19.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to have some of my best performances here in this building,” Bryant said. “I don’t think you understand how much I watched this building growing up.’’
To a pool reporter, Davis, the referee, gave a detailed narrative of Fisher’s tantrum/ejection.
“After correctly assessing Porzingis foul on Kobe Bryant — he hit him on the wrist — as I was walking toward the 28-foot mark, Derek Fisher screamed ‘f— no!’ ’’ Davis said. “And then as I took one more step to report the foul, he said, “That’s f—ing horrible.’”
“I tried to divert to go to halfcourt to see if I could give him a chance to settle down at which point he starts screaming and clapping in my face, ‘That’s horrible.’ He was assessed the first technical. After the first technical foul, he said again, ‘That’s f—ing horrible.’ Then he got the second technical foul.’’
Porzingis, who finished 12 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double in seven games, said he appreciated Fisher sticking up for him.
“It shows he’s with us the whole game and there for us,’’ Porzingis said.
“It’s never good when you lose your head coach. That made us think about things, push us a little more to get that win. Sometimes it helps. You start focusing more and want to win the game for Fisher.’’
Regarding the foul, Porzingis added, “It’s Kobe. I don ‘t think I committed the foul, but I have to see the replay.’’
Fisher wouldn’t discuss his first-ever ejection. Fisher led the NBA as a rookie coach last season with 13 technical fouls. Yet Phil Jackson still said late last season Fisher should be more emotional with the referees. Fisher said he’s not trying to abide by Jackson’s advice.
“The puppet strings aren’t that tight,’’ Fisher deadpanned.
Carmelo Anthony won the matchup against Bryant with 24 points on 8 of 20 shooting, including four key free throws down the stretch that put the Lakers (1-5) away. The two guarded each other often and talked often because Bryant now plays small forward.
“It reminded me back when I was in Denver and those battles,’’ Anthony said. “Even in his 20th season, contemplating retirement, you always have to stay on your toes.
“We had to come together after our leader got thrown out. I thought we did a good job responding.’’
Langston Galloway (14 points) banged in a huge late 3-pointer and two free throws by Anthony had the Knicks ahead 94-90 with 1:26 left. The fans chanted “M-V-P’’ with Anthony on the free-throw line to counteract the Bryant “M-V-P” chants.
Before the game Fisher, Bryant’s longtime teammate, was asked if he wanted to see his friend finish out his Garden career with a memorable game.
“No,’’ he said. “He has enough memories. He doesn’t need any today.’’
Bryant got a huge hand during pregame introductions and a swell of noise rose up whenever he touched the ball in the first quarter. But he was blanked for the game’s final 3:03.
“If this is his last hurrah, I’m going to miss him,’’ Anthony said. “It’s not going to feel the same with him being gone and him helping me throughout my career and that guy I could talk to.’’