Hometown hero Gallinari, Stoudemire lift Knicks in Milan

MILAN - Giorgio Armani, a giant in the fashion industry, stood at midcourt next to a literal giant in 6-10 Danilo Gallinari, the homegrown star who had returned with NBA fame.

"You're fantastic. I'll never forget you," Gallinari said to the sellout crowd of 11,500 at the Mediolanum Forum, which roared for "Gallo" and sang his name while waving flags and hanging banners from the upper deck.

"He deserves it fully because he's a great player," Armani said later, "and a great man."

Though Gallinari was the celebrated host, Amar'e Stoudemire's presence was the saving grace. Mike D'Antoni, who also made a homecoming of sorts, kept his star on the court Sunday until the Knicks' 125-113 exhibition win over Armani Jeans Milano was assured. "Hey, I wasn't taking any chances," he said. "I'll rest him in Paris. I'm not losing in Milan."

The Knicks face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Paris on Wednesday as part of the NBA Europe Live schedule.

Stoudemire had 32 points in 28:16, about eight minutes more than he expected to play, and D'Antoni said his young team is "going to have to climb up on his back, especially early on."

The Knicks' big prize of free agency debuted with - what else - a dunk 15 seconds into the game. Gallinari had 24 points in 32:06, led the team with seven rebounds and shot 5-for-11 from three-point range. The rest of the Knicks shot 5-for-15.

The Knicks shot 58.9 percent from the field but had 27 turnovers, five by Stoudemire. With 10 new players, this group clearly needs more than a week of practice to get acclimated.

"I'm not worried about the mistakes," D'Antoni said. "The mistakes we can clean up."

His concerns were more than just the results of the sloppy play, but the cause of it: a lack of energy, especially from the second unit. Several times throughout the game, D'Antoni had to implore his team to play harder.

After the starters built a nine-point lead in the first quarter, the subs allowed Milan to go ahead by five in the second quarter. Gallinari and Stoudemire helped regain the lead, but the game was never completely in hand until the fourth. "At that point of the game, we were maybe too relaxed," Gallinari said of the second quarter. "That's something we have to work on."

The competition level will increase in Paris as the Knicks face NBA talent. Then again, AJ Milano, the franchise that spawned the careers of Gallinari and D'Antoni, is a very tough team that expects to challenge for the Italian League title.

"I think everyone had fun," Gallinari said. "We haven't been working together for a long time, but I think we showed signs of good chemistry."

Notes & quotes: Former NBA player Oleksiy Pecherov led Milan with 23 points . . . Anthony Randolph (16 points) struggled in the first half, especially with his perimeter shooting, but once the game went up-tempo in the second half, he was much more effective . . . Timofey Mozgov had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 19:01 . . . Gallinari wasn't the only crowd favorite. There were ovations for Stoudemire and D'Antoni, the former Milano star who led the team to five Italian League titles three decades ago. Said D'Antoni: "It surprised me that there were enough old people who remembered me."