Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The NBA regular season is still more than a month away, but New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis is showing off for team Latvia.
Porzingis displayed the versatility that granted him the nickname "Unicorn" Friday in a showing for the Latvians against Serbia in EuroBasket 17.
Serbia won the Group D match 92-82.
But Porzingis took over in the second quarter. Latvia led the game 24-23 with nine minutes left in the frame when the Latvian big man blocked a shot. He jogged down the court at the back of the break and stepped right into a long 3-point attempt. After draining the shot, Porzingis got another block against the Serbians.
On the ensuing possession, he spotted up for another 3-pointer, before faking the shot. He then ducked inside and drove to the hoop before throwing down a two-handed slam over a Serbian defender.
Porzingis had 18 points and three rebounds in the loss. The 7-foot-3, 240 pounder scored a career-high 18.1 points and had 7.2 rebounds per game in 66 games last season for the Knicks. Porzingis is due $4.5 million this season. He has a team option for $5.6 million in 2018 and a qualifying offer of $7.5 million in 2019 before he becomes a restricted free agent.
Porzingis poured in 27 points and had six rebounds and two assists Saturday in Latvia's 92-64 throttling of Belgium at Fenerbahce Arena in Istanbul.
