Kyrie Irving described himself as "at peace" over his time with the Nets after scoring 36 points in a stellar return to Brooklyn as the Dallas Mavericks won 119-107 on Tuesday.
Irving, acquired from the Nets exactly one year ago, shot 15 of 24 from the field, was 4 of 11 on 3-pointers and handed out five assists.
Luka Doncic fell just short of a 10th triple-double this season with 35 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Dallas improved to 28-23 with its second straight win before Thursday's road game in New York.
After the win, Irving faced a string of questions over his time spent with the Nets, with his return coming after Kevin Durant also made a winning return to Brooklyn last week.
"I don’t think about it too often now, I’m pretty much at peace with what happened and the time I spent here," said Irving.
"I wish a lot of the guys well. Obviously, it was emotional and you could see my emotions running on out there but after that, I was just pretty much focused on winning the basketball game.
"It was just like any other basketball game, but it felt like I was home."
Pressed on his Brooklyn exit after impressing in his second game back after missing six with a sprained right thumb, Irving added: "It was time to get my own peace of mind and go somewhere where I was able to thrive.
"I did not want to be in a situation where I didn't have to worry about behind-the-back talk or the media talk or not knowing how to handle real-life circumstances that has nothing to do with the game of basketball.
"While I was here, I learned a lot of lessons. I've made my peace again and I just want to move forward."
The Nets only won one playoff series with Durant and Irving, who spent three-and-a-half years in Brooklyn.
However, they almost defeated the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2021, a battle that took place while James Harden and Irving were both short of full fitness.
Irving said: "Things could have changed, and you look back at the past and you have 20-20 vision then this could've gone right or if this would've happened…
"If I didn't get injured versus the Bucks, do I still ask for a trade? If KD's foot wasn't on the 3-point line, are we talking about a different legacy here? If James doesn't ask for a trade – all of the woulda, coulda, shoulda, wouldas.
"Everything that I've learned about myself has come from being in the city and being in Jersey. It was a childhood dream to play for the Nets.
"Obviously I fell short in terms of the championship aspirations, but for me, I think it was bigger than a championship here.
"I had to really take some moral stances. There were some political things that were going on here as well and there were some things that I did on my accord that I look back on and they were mistakes. And I have to be accountable for those things.
"I'm not perfect. But one thing I can say is I've been able to learn from things and continue to push forward."
Mikal Bridges scored 28 points and Royce O’Neal added 18 for Brooklyn, which cut a 23-point deficit to 107-101 with roughly five minutes left before Irving hit two straight 3s for a 113-101 advantage.
The Mavericks are eighth in the highly competitive Western Conference standings.
Irving added: "Hopefully after this night, we can just put that to rest, just move forward and I can look forward to the rest of my career and just handle it in Dallas and going after my second championship."
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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