Kristaps Porzingis Says Game vs. Knicks Was Most 'Relaxed' He's Been This Season

Kristaps Porzingis had no problem facing his ex Friday night. 

The Dallas Mavericks forward said after the Mavs' 106-102 loss to the visiting New York Knicks that he felt more "relaxed" than he has at any other point in the young 2019-20 NBA season, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Porzingis posted 28 points, nine rebounds and five blocks before fouling out of the contest against his former team. The Knicks traded the 2015 fourth overall pick to Dallas on Jan. 31, shortly after he had requested to be dealt.

Friday marked the first time since Porzingis' trade that the Knicks and Mavs have faced off.

Porzingis feeling at ease isn't all that surprising given he got what he wanted and spoke positively about New York ahead of the matchup:

However, for purposes beyond Friday, it is encouraging for the Mavs to hear in the context of Porzingis missing the entire 2018-19 season while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered on Feb. 6, 2018.

Following the Mavs' 107-106 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, Porzingis expressed the complete opposite. "My stamina, my cardio is getting better,” Porzingis said, per Newsday's Steve Popper. "I just want to play well and win games and show what I know I'm capable of. But right now, I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet, and that is very frustrating."

More importantly: Porzingis is building chemistry with reigning Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, who notched a triple-double against the Knicks that included a career-high 38 points.

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle touched on Porzingis' improvements against New York, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News: 

"I thought he was great. The difference tonight, after him thinking about things the last couple of days and us talking about things the last couple of days, he really just moved and played within the system and allowed the game to come to him. When a player like him does that with a guy like Doncic on the floor, really good things are going to happen for him."

Porzingis has plenty of time to get acclimated to his new team, as he signed a five-year, $158 million maximum contract in the summer to stay with the Mavericks.