Heat center Jermaine O'Neal exploded in his first game, posting 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Knicks on Wednesday night.

"I'm not going to say by any means that I've arrived because it's only one game," O'Neal told the Miami Herald. "[But] I felt good."

He averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds last season.

"What I averaged last year wasn't respectable to me. Respectable, to me, is dominating. It's not about being in an All-Star game and a contract. It's looking across from opponents and seeing they're fearful," O'Neal added.

He turned 31 last month and acknowledged that he can't get by solely on athleticism anymore.

"I'm not going to be able to jump as high as I was jumping at 23. But I'm pretty sure anybody else drafted in my class [1996] is not jumping or running as fast," O'Neal added. "Mentally, I'm a lot better overall player than I was in Indiana because I know how to play the game better."