Kyrie Irving described his Dallas Mavericks debut as an "incredible" experience after playing a lead role in victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
An NBA champion alongside LeBron James seven years ago with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving joined the Mavericks this week after a stint with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavs scored a 110-104 road win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and Irving shot a team-high 24 points.
Asked at courtside how his debut felt, Irving told ESPN: "Incredible. I had natural nerves out here, so I was just trying to play well, but it feels good to get acclimated.
"It's been a long 96 hours to say the least, but I'm just grateful I got to play the game I love with some guys that were selfless out there, and it just feels good."
Luka Doncic is sidelined for now due to a heel problem but is expected back within days, with Dallas now sitting fourth in the Western Conference.
The prospect of linking up with Doncic excites the new arrival, who spoke of what could be expected.
"Just some high-level, high-IQ basketball," Irving said. "It's simple when you play with guys that are selfless and do the little things, and they don't mind other guys being aggressive out there. That's the way the game should be played, a very fast pace, and just doing the little things, details to win.
"We'll take it from day to day. We're trying to get everybody healthy and see where we go from there."
Irving saw lots that pleased him about his new team-mates, saying in a post-game press conference: "I was telling the guys in the locker room I liked how we didn't panic in the last four minutes. We stayed poised. They made their runs, but we made everything tough.
"It just felt good to get this debut out of the way. It's been a long 96 hours, barely any sleep sometimes and just packing my stuff. It was the first time I ever got traded in the middle of the season, so it was new for me.
"But I'm excited that I'm here, and just keep things rolling now."
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points, six assists and five rebounds, and the 30-year-old believes Irving is settling in well.
"It felt like when he came to practice yesterday and came to shoot this morning, you could just tell his energy was great," Hardaway Jr. said.
"He talked to all the guys out there and told us to 'keep doing what you guys are doing, have fun; don't look for me, I'll find a way'.
"He just gave us that confidence. It felt like he'd been here for a while, while he was on the floor with us, so it was great."
