Following the hotly-contested matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks on Thursday — a result that went in the favor of the latter, 106-103 — Knicks young guard Dennis Smith Jr. spoke out about his admiration for Mavs sophomore stud Luka Doncic.

According to Smith himself, he is a self-confessed Doncic supporter.

“I love it,” Dennis Smith said with a smile when asked about Doncic’s play this season, via The Athletic's Michael Lee. “I’m a big Luka fan and that ain’t changing. Business is business. We brothers. I had a good relationship with all of my teammates. Whenever I see them now, I’m excited and they’re excited to see me. It’s all smiles and hugs. It’s a lot of love.”

Smith and Doncic actually shared the same backcourt for the Mavs last year prior to the former's mid-season move to the Knicks. Despite their short-lived stint as teammates, it is clear that these two formed a bond, and that Smith is not shy about how much he admires Doncic both as a player and as a friend.

As Smith said, however, it was all business on Thursday, as he helped his side to an unexpected victory against Doncic's Mavs. Smith had easily his best game of the season, with the 21-year-old coming off the Knicks bench for 13 points (on 5-of-12 shooting), two 3-pointers, six rebounds, and eight assists in 30 minutes of action.

Smith has not had the best of starts to the new campaign, and hopefully, Thursday night's outburst kicks starts the 6-foot-2 point guard's season with New York.