TORONTO — Kristaps Porzingis will get out of the cold Saturday after heating up in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night.
With Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside, Porzingis scorched his way to a World team-high 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers despite a 157-154 loss to the USA team in the rookie-sophomore game.
“Not a lot of defense, but you’re supposed to have fun and we did,” the Knicks rookie sensation said.
Porzingis now will fly with his family to “somewhere warm.”
He envisioned his first All-Star Weekend would be under brighter circumstances and he would not already be on his second head coach of his rookie year.
Porzingis, who seemed stunned Tuesday, the day after Derek Fisher was fired as Knicks coach, believes the move was made to light a spark under a collapsing team. At least Porzingis got some respite from reality.
“We all got to get better mentally, sharper — that’s what we’re missing,’’ Porzingis said before he lit up Air Canada Centre. “We just missed a little bit of that focus at the beginning of the game. Now with the coaching change, that might be a wake-up call for all of us. We need to change something. We can’t continue playing this way.’’
Porzingis won’t question the move to Kurt Rambis.
“They know what they’re doing,’’ Porzingis said. “They have a lot of experience. I’m nobody to judge their decisions. I felt guilty for that happening. We got to move forward.”
Porzingis spoke alternately in English, Spanish and Latvian, depending upon the origin of the questioner. But he did enjoy a query about a chance meeting with Neha Dhupia, a Bollywood actress.
“I think she was very pretty,’’ Porzingis said. “I hope to see her at the game.”
The Rising Stars game featured Porzingis bringing his squad back in the second half, although, fitting with the Knicks’ season, they came up just short.
“It never feels good to lose,” Porzingis said.
One of the first questions Carmelo Anthony was asked centered on his Latvian sidekick.
“It brought a new energy I think that we were looking for as a city, as a team, as an organization, and I believe that he will be here for a very long time,” Anthony said. “He’s 7-3, can shoot, can dribble, speaks multiple languages, loves music. So I’m a big fan of that. And just the way he plays the game, I don’t really think he understands how good he is, and how much better he’s going to get.”
Phil Jackson said earlier this week he felt Porzingis had gotten “fatigued’’ and lost mechanics on his shot.
“I can tell especially beginning of the games,’’ Porzingis said. “My feet were not as good as they should be. That’s why the shots weren’t falling, and moments in the season I was tired. My energy wasn’t that high. It’s a good break to get away and rest and come back better.’’