In the first quarter, he took a Shaquille O?Neal elbow to his right eye. In the second quarter, Udonis Haslem opened a cut on the bridge of his nose with another shot, leading to his first technical foul of the season when the two big men locked horns again.

But what Amar? Stoudemire will remember most about his first game back in a week from knee trouble, was his third-quarter ejection by referee Mark Wunderlich after questioning his foul on O?Neal with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

?I got thrown out for asking a question. I swear, that?s all I did,? Stoudemire said. ?I said 'What did I do?? He said I smacked him twice. Then I said 'What?? and the guy throws me out of the game? That?s ridiculous."

?I?m a captain on this team. I should at least be able to ask a question. I?ve seen players get in referees' faces and say much worse things and not get one technical, much less one that gets you kicked out.?

Stoudemire said he didn?t know if Wunderlich had forgotten that he already had one technical for his earlier scrap with Haslem.

?Whatever happened, I want to talk to (NBA Operations Chief) Stu Jackson, because that was totally uncalled for. It was crazy.?