Gallo excited about Knicks exhibition in home Milan

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Playing games in your hometown always gets complicated for professional athletes when it comes to ticket requests, and Danilo Gallinari is no exception.

Just before the Knicks' plane took off for Milan, Italy, last night to kick off their weeklong European training trip, Gallinari was asked how many family and friends contacted him for tickets to Sunday's exhibition game. He playfully rolled his eyes, pausing for effect.

"A lot," he said. "A lot, a lot, a lot."

But make no mistake, fielding calls for tickets is one annoyance that Gallinari certainly will live with, as it's not every day an NBA team visits his hometown.

"Bringing the New York Knicks to my hometown where I grew up is something special, I mean it's something that's unbelievable," he said. "It's going to be a historical game. We're going to make history."

Soccer is the hands-down big game in Milan, just like the rest of Europe, but Gallinari said people in Milan always flock to big events. And he said the Knicks' exhibition game in Assago against Armani Jeans Milano at Mediolanum Forum without a doubt will qualify as "a big event" in Milan. "Everyone," he said, "is going to be following this game."

Returning home provides an interesting start to an important year for Gallinari. In order for the Knicks to reach their stated goal of making the playoffs, Gallinari needs to take the next step as an all-around offensive player. "He expects himself to do well," Mike D'Antoni said. "It's a big year for him and he knows that."

Gallinari, the Knicks' first-round pick in 2008, averaged 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season after playing only 28 games in his rookie year. Asked about his goals for this season, he said, "I want to be a leader of this team."

This trip, which includes a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Paris, also is a homecoming of sorts for D'Antoni, who built a huge following in Italy as a successful player and coach.

"For a guy like me growing up playing basketball in Italy, Mike, he's an idol," Gallinari said. "He's one of the best players to ever play European basketball."

Notes & quotes: Wilson Chandler (sore left calf) was limited in practice Wednesday . . . Eddy Curry was the only player who didn't travel to Italy. He is resting his strained right hamstring.