Anthony happy Porzingis got emotional after getting flagrant fouled

New York Knicks sophomore Kristaps Porzingis wasn't a happy camper on Tuesday night after getting tossed to the floor by Phoenix Suns rookie Marquese Chriss on what wound up being called a flagrant-1 foul.

Taking exception to the excessive physicality, the 21-year-old shot back up seemingly looking for a fight before his teammates and Suns players emerged to separate the two.

It was that level of emotion coming out of Porzingis that impressed fellow Knick Carmelo Anthony the most.

"He needed to get like that," Anthony said following New York's 113-111 overtime loss at Talking Stick Resort Arena, according to News Day's Al Iannazzone. "Sometimes people try to take advantage of his kindness. I thought it was getting a little bit too much out there for him. He reacted. We had his back out there."

Porzingis received a technical foul for his reaction, while Brandon Jennings and Suns guard Eric Bledsoe were also T'd up.

"I don't really think about it. It's natural that obviously I'm going to stand up for myself," Porzingis said of the incident.

"There was some word exchange before that. I was angry. But as soon as the play was over, as soon as that situation was over, the next thing I was thinking about was making those free throws. That was all that was in my mind."

The 7-foot-3 big man had 34 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots on 12-of-23 shooting and a flawless 4-of-4 from deep in 41 minutes of action.