Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire has picked up his 16th technical foul, which would mean an automatic one-game suspension if it’s upheld.

Stoudemire and Mavericks center Brendan Haywoodreceived offsetting technicals during the second quarter Thursday night. It was such an innocuous confrontation that both players came away laughing, baffled by the call from official Bennett Salvatore.

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t find it so funny, apparently because he understood the ramification. His griping drew another technical foul.

The only way Stoudemire can avoid the punishment is if the league rescinds the technical. He’s had two others rescinded this season.

“I feel confident they can rescind it,” Stoudemire said after the game, a 127-109 loss by the Knicks. “We laughed about it later and the official agreed with us it wasn’t that bad. … We got tangled up, that’s it.”

-AP