Kristaps Porzingis learns some lessons from Anthony Davis

Kristaps Porzingis looked up to Anthony Davis and said he was someone he tried to learn from when he was playing overseas. He learned plenty from playing against Davis on Sunday.

Davis had 36 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and held Porzingis to 4-for-15 shooting and 10 points, blocking three of the rookie's shots, in the Knicks' 95-87 win over the Pelicans.

"He's the best power forward in the league and it was a tough challenge for me, for sure," Porzingis said. "He was doing his thing. I just tried to take away something from him. It's definitely hard to stop a player like that."

Porzingis, who blocked one of Davis' jumpers, said he's not used to facing players that long and athletic and has to figure out ways to impact the game when he's not scoring. "It was a bad shooting game for me," he said. "There's other things that I can do on the floor without trying to score every shot I take.

"If you don't shoot the ball well, you can't be outside the game. You've still got to be in the game. I kept trying to do the little stuff, rebounds, whatever it is, just to help the team. You can't let that get to your head."

Block party

Lou Amundson said he was "surprised" that former Cavaliers teammate Tristan Thompson took a shot at him after Amundson blocked Thompson's dunk attempt Friday night.

Thompson was asked about playing through frustration and responded, "Especially when Lou Amundson blocks your shot. Like, seriously?"

Thompson tweeted an apology to Amundson with the hashtag "#BeProfessional."

Amundson called Thompson "a good dude" but still was taken aback. "I just thought it would be more understanding if it were a player I never played with before," he said. "But since I played with Tristan, I was a little surprised to see that from him."

Fisher still learning

Second-year coach Derek Fisher said he's still learning what's reviewable by the referees and what isn't. He mentioned a play in Wednesday night's Hornets game involving Carmelo Anthony that wasn't reviewable.

"You don't know that until you're in that situation," Fisher said. "Every time we have a game, I'm learning more and more. At the same time, there's a lot that I learned last season that I feel like has me in a better place in terms of managing the game."

Fast breaks

The Knicks didn't earn their fifth win until Dec. 12 last season. They didn't get their sixth until Jan. 19.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.