Kristaps Porzingis set the tone for the Dallas Mavericks in what amounted to a bounce-back win over the San Antonio Spurs Friday night.

Dallas (8-4) won the game 123-109, and Luka Doncic closed the game out by scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the hero of the night was Porzingis, who chose to be aggressive early and often.

"It's the confidence my teammates and the coaching staff are transmitting," Porzingis said. "We want to make the other team pay, and that gives me confidence."

Kristaps Porzingis' big night

Porzingis ended the game with 32 points and seven rebounds. And for long stretches of the game, Dallas experimented with playing him at the center position. It worked. They went to him early in post-up situations. He was active on the offensive glass. And the early touches gave way to an offensive rhythm he hasn't enjoyed to this point in the season.

"The only big out there was KP," head coach Jason Kidd said. "And I thought KP, again, was aggressive from the first play. Being able to get him a touch in the post set the tone for him, and he was aggressive while he was on the floor."

How Porzingis scored his points

One of the ways Porzingis found his groove was in the pick-and-pop game with Doncic. The two fed off each other all night. And as a result, it provided a look into what Dallas' offense can be when Porzingis is a real offensive threat.

"Playing with Luka is extremely easy," Porzingis said. "He takes so much pressure off everyone else. He makes everyone better. Both of us playing in pick-and-roll, where I can pop, I can roll — mix it up. I think it's tough for other teams to guard that. The more we have those situations, the more steps forward we will take, and the more dangerous we will be."

Improvement and probable versatility

Outside of the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop game, Porzingis enjoyed playing as the only big man on the floor. However, he remained adamant that he is versatile enough to play alongside anyone.

"We can play either way, with Dwight [Powell] at the five and me at the four, or me at the five as the only big — it's hard for the other team, either way," Porzingis said.

Dallas dismantled San Antonio, but what's scary for the rest of the league is Porzingis feel as though they could have shot better from the field. As a team, Dallas shot 46 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind the arc.

What contributed to the offensive improvement was Dallas' ball movement. For the first time all season, the ball didn't stick. Dallas racked up 30 team assists and only five turnovers. 15 of those assists came from Doncic, who posted a triple-double, scoring 32 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

"One of our strengths is shooting the ball, and sometimes we can rely on that," Kidd said. "I think the way we started the game going to KP and LD right off the bat, I think set the tone. That gave those two opportunities to play make. LD ended up with a triple-double and KP made great decisions in the post tonight.

"We went from good to great on our shots tonight."

Looking ahead

Dallas is a different team when Porzingis has his offensive game going. However, getting going is the difficult part for him. After 12 games, he's already been maligned and critiqued for his shortcomings. And most of that criticism is warranted. Yet, against San Antonio, Porzingis reminded everyone of how good he can be when everything goes right for him. Now, he just has to do it again on Monday.

Related Dallas Mavericks reading: 

"Mavs Journal: Dallas' offensive troubles and padded wins." 

Feature image via Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports.