Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis admitted he wasn't expecting flowers and well wishes in his third trip back to New York. Even though Madison Square Garden was not as packed as usual on Friday, the Mavs star knew he will still get a rowdy welcome from the team's rabid fans.

True enough, the 25-year-old big man was jeered mercilessly each time he held the basketball against the Knicks. After the hard-fought match that Dallas won, 99-86, Porzingis talked about getting booed by his former team's fan base for the entirety of the game.

“The reaction was what I expected again, of course,” the Mavs big man said, per SNY's Alex Smith. “I’m happy we got the win. We lost the two [games] last season, and tonight we grinded this game and got the W against them. They’re a tough team and they played really good defense on me and on us in general.

“Just overall, a tough game, a grinding game, and it’s good to come up with a win against a tough team like the Knicks.”

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While Kristaps Porzingis was not exactly the star for the Mavs against the Knicks, he still put up valuable production of 14 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block in 34 minutes. More importantly, he finally got the monkey off his back with his first win against the Knicks.

The 7-foot-3 shooter infamously told New York brass that he won't be re-signing with the team after the 2018-19 season. This forced the ‘Bockers' hand and cleared the way for his blockbuster trade to the Mavs.

Porzingis, meanwhile, has been used to the boos from Knicks fans ever since they drafted him fourth overall in 2015. It's probably just music to his ears by now, and something he'll live with every time he returns to MSG.