DALLAS _ Facing the Knicks for the first time since they traded him, Kristaps Porzingis tried to say this was just another game, that he was beyond it all.
But from the first shot he took Friday night _ a three-point field goal that slipped cleanly through the net _ it was clear that he was out to make a point. And he didn't stop until he had 28 of them.
But what Porzingis could not get was a win. The Knicks put together their best performance of the season, escaping with a 106-102 win over the Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
Marcus Morris had 29 points and nine rebounds and Julius Randle added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks (2-7).
Just 48 hours earlier, Porzingis had poured his heart out, wondering aloud when his game would come back to him after he missed 20 months while rehabilitating a torn left Achilles tendon. When the lights came on this time, though, he was ready.
But despite 38 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists from Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic, the Knicks held on, thanks in no small part to the play of Frank Ntilikina. He had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots.
The Knicks were in control much of the night, but after an 8-0 run by Doncic closed the third quarter and brought the Mavericks within 84-80, the Knicks appeared ready to fold.
The Mavs pulled even at 97 on a finger roll by Porzingis, and he gave them the lead with a free throw. But Ntilikina hit a 3-pointer to tie it and then a step-back jumper to give the Knicks the lead.
Morris' jumper gave them a 97-92 lead, and after Doncic missed, Taj Gibson hit two free throws for a seven-point advantage.
Gibson's dunk gave the Knicks a 103-97 lead, but a layup by Doncic and a pair of missed free throws by RJ Barrett gave the Mavs an opening.
After former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer made it a one-possession game at 105-102, Gibson missed a pair of free throws, but Doncic misfired on a long three-pointer and Randle's free throw iced the game.
When Ntilikina joined the Knicks as a lottery pick in the summer of 2017, he arrived in New York thinking he was pairing with Porzingis to provide an international duo that would lead the team for years to come.
But Ntilikina struggled to get his opportunity and then Porzingis was removed from the equation, first by injury and then by the trade that sent the 7-3 former franchise centerpiece to Dallas last season. So Friday night presented an odd meeting _ the first time the two were in the starting lineup in the same game, even if it was on opposing teams.
If there is one thing that Ntilikina has lacked that Porzingis has had since he arrived in the league, it is the confidence and aggressiveness on the offensive end. But with 4:24 left in the first half, Ntilikina took the ball at the top of the key and drove down the lane, rising to try to throw down a dunk on Porzingis. Porzingis blocked the shot and originally was called for a foul that was overturned on a coach's challenge.
Ntilikina has been the subject of trade rumors himself. The Knicks looked to move him last season and then over the summer but were unable to get back a return worth sending him away.
Ntilikina wasn't shocked when the Knicks dealt Porzingis. "I guess it's the business," he said. "My vets and my people got me aware of it. You don't really know it until you go through it and have that experience. It's the league. So many things happen and you got to be ready for everything."
