AUBURN — Call it a technical knockout.

First came the technicals, then the knockout.

Riding the momentum of three first-half post-play whistles, Alabama seized control in what became a 68-50 rout at Auburn.

The Tigers were called for three technical fouls in the opening 20 minutes as the Crimson Tide turned a seven-point deficit into an 11-point halftime lead. It was only the Tigers’ second loss in an Auburn Arena that quickly turned hostile.

JaMychal Green’s 19 points paced the Tide, winners of three straight, in its first game without suspended Tony Mitchell. The Alabama bench outscored Auburn’s 28-9 with Charles Hankerson leading the subs with 14. Frankie Sullivan was the only Tiger to reach double figures with 21 points.

Tension couldn’t be any higher after the third technical foul was called in the closing seconds of the half. Tiger coach Tony Barbee earned that one after Kenny Gabriel and Chris Denson each got one for hanging on the rim after dunks.

Gabriel’s put Auburn up 14-7 with 11:44 left, but the Tide went on a 12-4 run to take its first and last lead of the game.

Denison’s technical, which sent the sold-out crowd even further into a frenzy, came with 2:16 left. Again, Alabama responded. The guests scored the final eight points of the half to take an 11-point to the intermission.

JaMychal Green’s jumper just before the buzzer capped the furious comeback. Barbee continued his shouting match with the officials as he exited the floor and an Auburn student was removed from the arena by the referees. Trevor Releford hit all six free throws resulting from the technicals.

In the meantime, Hankerson came off the bench to lift the Tide’s half-court offense. He made all three 3-point shots in the first half. Rodney Cooper added two more perimeter jumpers and Green had his first since the season opener. Overall, Alabama’s six made 3-pointers tied for the most since opening SEC play.

The Tide (16-7, 5-4 SEC) also turned up the defensive pressure to create offense. The 20 Tiger turnovers translated into 26 Tide points. Releford had five steals to go with his 15 points.

Auburn (13-11, 3-7) didn’t help its cause at the free-throw line. It shot just 12-for-26 while the Tide was 14-for-20.

Down low, Alabama out rebounded the hosts 34-28 and scored 28 points in the paint to Auburn’s 18.

Alabama’s lead grew to 20 with 7:25 left before Auburn’s 9-0 run in 90 seconds run cut it to 60-49. The Tide responded by scoring the next six points to ice away its fifth win in six tries against Auburn.

Alabama heads to LSU at 6 p.m., Saturday before playing four of its last six games in Coleman Coliseum. Auburn heads to Ole Miss for a 6 p.m., Saturday game.