Donte DiVincenzo established his new scoring record in the NBA with 40 points in the 99-124 defeat of the Detroit Pistons.
In addition, the Villanova-trained guard broke the record for three-pointers made in an official game with the Knicks jersey, with a total of 11, surpassing the previous best records in possession of JR Smith and Evan Fournier respectively (10).
DiVincenzo scored his 11th triple of the match with just over 3 minutes left, and that was when Thibodeau decided to sit him down to receive the more than deserved applause from Madison Square Garden.
«It has been impressive. And in reality he has been doing it all year,” Thibodeau acknowledged to the media. NY Post. “His teammates helped him create good shots, he scored them and continued playing hard the rest of the game,” he explained.
In 41 minutes on the field he finished with 40 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and two steals, shooting 14/23 from the field and 11/20 from long distance.
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In addition, he also has within reach the other record held by Fournier with 241 total triples in a single season. DiVincenzo is close behind with 234, and he still has 11 games left.
Regarding the match, there is little more to add, except for DiVincenzo’s sensational night against the Pistons who are still in free fall, and with a plague of injuries included. Last night they were without Jalen Duren, Cade Cunningham, Quentin Grimes, Taj Gibson, Simone Fontecchio, Isaiah Stewart and rookie Ausar Thompson, all of whom were injured.
“I feel like it was a very bad night for us and a sensational one for DiVincenzo,” admitted Marcus Sasser, the visitors’ top performer with 24 points.
Reunion with Fournier
Evan Fournier returned to the Garden with 15 points in 20 minutes starting from the second unit. It was his reunion with the New Yorkers since he was part of the transfer operation for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks among others.
The Frenchman acknowledged in the subsequent press conference that he is not at all surprised by the records of DiVincenzo, who has found his ideal place in the Knickerbockers.
“To be honest with you, I’m not surprised,” he noted. «He found her paper and congratulated him. He has great chemistry with the guys. Especially with JB (Jalen Brunson). “He is very intelligent in terms of finding the perfect triple and has very fast mechanics,” he noted.
It is worth remembering that Fournier himself already broke the previous best record in triples made by the legendary John Starks with 217. And soon they could break his as well.
«I had fun getting it, but I never thought it would be very difficult to beat, the way it is played now. In my first year it took me a couple of months to figure out my role, but once I understood what I was for, my numbers skyrocketed. And honestly, he’s a great shooter. “He doesn’t surprise me at all,” he stressed.
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Tribute to the Captain
During the previous warm-up, the Knicks players wore shirts with the number 19 in tribute to ‘Captain’ Willis Reed, who died on March 21, 2023 at the age of eighty.
He has left behind an impressive legacy: Selected in the second round of the 1964 Draft by the New Yorkers themselves; two-time NBA champion (70 and 73); two-time Finals MVP (70 and 73); Best Rookie of the Year in 1965 and selected in the Best Rookie Quintet; All-Star seven times and with career figures of 18.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per day, all of them with the Knicks, from 1964 until his retirement in 1974.
Other highlights
Knicks: Jalen Brunson supported the offense with 28 points and 6 assists; Deuce McBride added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal; and Josh Hart added his sixth triple-double of the course with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
This was the 15th consecutive victory for the Knicks in their direct confrontations against Detroit.
Pistons: James Wiseman added his second straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds; and from the bench Fournier and Malachi Flynn contributed 15 and 14 points respectively.
(Cover photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
2024-03-26 10:21:46
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