According to two sources, the Dallas Mavericks were informed by the New York Knicks of a possible 'extortion' against Kristaps Porzingis and not of a pending rape allegation.

"The word that was used was 'extortion,'" one of the sources said.

"The word 'rape' was never used, only 'extortion,'" the second source said.

ESPN previously reported that the Mavericks were informed of the alleged rape by the Knicks during a trade call with the NBA.

Porzingis didn't travel with the Mavericks to their game on Saturday at Oklahoma City.

The Dallas Mavericks were informed by the New York Knicks of pending rape allegations against Kristaps Porzingis on a Jan. 31 trade call with NBA headquarters that finalized a blockbuster trade. The Mavericks took on several unwanted contracts and traded two future first round picks for Porzingis, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Mark Cuban, in an email to the Post, said the team is aware of the accusation, but "we have been instructed by federal authorities not to comment."

Cuban declined further comment when contacted by ESPN.

A seven-month-long investigation in 2018 into the Mavericks organization found widespread sexual harassment and workplace misconduct over a period of more than 20 years.

Cuban agreed to contribute $10 million to women's causes.

Kristaps Porzingis is being investigated in New York for an alleged rape that a woman told police took place last year.

The victim alleges Porzingis raped her hours after he tore his ACL when he invited her to his Manhattan penthouse. When Porzingis returned to his home following his ACL-tear diagnosis, he joined his two brothers and longtime physiotherapist, Manolo Valdivieso, in downing at least one shot of tequila. That account is included in a 23-minute documentary about his rehab.

Investigators consider her credible despite not reporting the alleged attack until over a year later and admitting she discussed receiving $68,000 in hush money.

The victim is also in her 20s and lived in the same building as Porzingis. Once inside his apartment, Porzingis allegedly held her down and raped her.

Porzingis allegedly promises to give her $68,000 and pay for her brother's college tuition but then reneged.

The Dallas Mavericks have been made aware of the accusation.

“We have been instructed by federal authorities not to comment,” Mark Cuban told The Post in an email, which he cc’ed to NBA officials and Porzingis’ reps.

The Knicks traded Porzingis on January 31. The team was asked if they had been made aware of the rape allegation.

“This is Kristaps’ personal matter and not related to the Knicks,” said a spokesperson for the Knicks.

2,000 Slovenia fans watched the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-99 as Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic went head-to-head for the first time in the NBA.

"It felt like we were in Ljubljana,'' said Erik Spoelstra of the atmosphere.

Dragic recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Doncic finished with 19 points.

"To buy a ticket, to fly from a different continent here and to stay here and support us, it's something amazing,'' said Dragic, who went back out after the game to address the crowd.

Doncic admitted he was nervous playing in front of his hometown fans.

"It was great. Honestly maybe for the first time in my career I was nervous before the game. It was different for me, but it was a special night," said Doncic.

The win also moved the Heat back into the 8th and final playoff spot.

Mark Cuban received a $250,000 fine about the officiating in the 2006 Finals and brought it up again unprompted during an interview on the rivalry of Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.

"I mean, look, I don't think anybody will doubt we had it taken from us," Cuban said recently. "A different set of referees, a different outcome."

During an interview in 2016, Cuban also complained about the officiating and said he wouldn't bring it up again.

"It will go down in history as the worst officiated Finals in the history of the game. And I don't even think the league will disagree with that. But I think at the 10-year anniversary, I'll stop talking about it."‎

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks lost The Finals in 2006 to the Miami Heat, but defeated them in a relative upset in 2011.

"I think we were fortunate to see them in Year 1 of them getting together," said Nowitzki. "They took their games to another level, figuring out even better how to play off each other, play with each other. They looked almost unbeatable for a while."

The Heat went on to win The Finals in 2012 and 2013 while the Mavericks took a big step backwards.

"Dirk was the best player in the world—at that time, during that series," Riley said.

The Sacramento Kings discussed a trade with the Washington Wizards centered on Otto Porter Jr.

The Kings eventually pivoted to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks for Harrison Barnes, while the Wizards dealt Porter to the Chicago Bulls.

Sacramento also had interest in Porter when he was a restricted free agent in 2017.

Barnes was acquired by the Kings to help fortify the wings, but he's spent most of the past two seasons as a power forward.

The New York Knicks made an offer to the Sacramento Kings around last year's draft centered around Kristaps Porzingis.

The Kings were drafting No. 2 and could have moved Fox while reorienting their team around Luka Doncic.

The Kings would have had to either send an additional asset beyond De'Aaron Fox or take back unwanted salary from the Knicks.

Sacramento ultimately decided to keep Fox and draft Marvin Bagley III.

Fox has become one of the league's best young point guards, while Porzingis eventually was traded by the Knicks to unite with Doncic as members of the Dallas Mavericks.

"I like Luka, but we didn't want to overload with players who -- maybe they don't have the exact same characteristics, but if you want to develop the guys you have, you have to make sure they have room to develop," said Vlade Divac.

Kristaps Porzingis has largely played at power forward during his career, but many believe his best position in the present and future is center. Porzingis revealed he is open to playing center now.

"It doesn't really matter to me," said Porzingis on his position. "I want to be in the best position defensively where I can be the most effective, and I want to be put in plays where I'm the hardest to guard on offense.

"Last season, I was averaging 2.4 blocks until I got injured playing the 4 position most of the time. A lot of times, there's stretch 4s and guys trying to drag me out, and still I was able to do that. It all depends on matchups. I don't think it's the right thing for me to be fighting the whole game against a 5 guy that's a post-up guy, but if it's a guy that's close to the rim that's not really a post-up guy, and I can help off and help my teammates... It all depends on the matchups."

The Mavericks have cap space and have been linked to a pursuit of a center.

Kristaps Porzingis will miss the entire 18-19 season as he recovers from his torn ACL. But Porzingis has fully recovered from his injury and has resumed full basketball activities with the exception of playing in actual games.

"Oh my god, that's the hardest thing for me to wake up on game days, go through shootaround with the team and then have to pick a suit to wear for the game," Porzingis said. "I'm like, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' It's the toughest thing for me. I hate my suits. Not that I hate the suits, but I hate picking them for the game day.

"It's so weird that I'm not able to -- I am able to, but I'm not playing yet. It's the game day, and I feel like it's the game day, but you just pick a suit and you wear it and you're there. And I try to be in the moment when I'm there with the team and help as much as I can without being able to be on the floor, but it's very, very, very tough. Tougher than I expected."

Porzingis agreed a year ago to follow a plan to spend a full year focusing on working on his body and biomechanics to maximize his health.

The Mavs readily accepted the plan after trading for Porzingis.

"I'm really proud of myself for staying this patient with the knee and taking my time. There hasn't been a lot of cases of a 7-(foot-)3 guy tearing his ACL. The good thing about the injury is it was a contact injury. If it was not a contact injury, that would be much more dangerous for me. But it was a contact injury. That means my body mechanics are fine. Now what I've been doing is just getting better with them. I'll keep doing that the whole summer, keep working on my body, keep strengthening my joints, my knees, my ankles, my posture, everything.

"I can feel the progress already, so it excites me even more. It makes me even more eager to be out there on the floor. But I'm going to stick to what I have to stick to, stay patient, and when I'm back, I'm going to be back to 110 percent. At this point, I've matured a lot. I'm like, 'This is the decision I have in my mind, and it's the right decision.' I don't feel the same way every day, but I stick to it."