Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo continues to earn team's trust with another stellar performance in Game 1 vs. Pacers
The Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo gestures after making a three-point basket during the second half of Game 1 in an NBA second-round playoff series against the Pacers on Monday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
GREENBURGH — Jalen Brunson has no trouble remembering the first time he saw Donte DiVincenzo play.
Brunson, then a junior at Stevenson High School outside Chicago, was being recruited by Villanova. He saw that some “kid named Donte DiVincenzo from Delaware” had committed to Villanova and that he was a guard like him. So, he decided to go to YouTube and check the guy out.
“I went and watched, and I was like, well, all right. I guess I’m not going to Villanova,” Brunson remembered after the Knicks’ practice Tuesday. “And then we actually played against each other that summer [in AAU] and he said, ‘Come to ’Nova with me.’ And I said, ‘Hell, no.’ ”
Of course, not only did Brunson join DiVincenzo at Villanova and win two national championships with him there, he returned the favor by helping to recruit DiVincenzo to the Knicks this season where he is playing a critical role in their postseason.
In fact, as much as Brunson is the MVP and leader of this team, an argument can be made that it’s the play of DiVincenzo, especially late in the game, that has often determined whether the Knicks win or lose.
Brunson became just the fourth NBA player ever to score 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games Monday, but it was DiVincenzo who made the two plays on both sides of the ball that clinched the Knicks’ 121-117 win in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Pacers.
First, DiVincenzo buried a clutch three on a pass from Brunson that gave the Knicks the lead for good with 40 seconds left. Then, with 12.1 seconds left, he drew a controversial offensive foul by running into an illegal screen by Myles Turner when he was guarding Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers trailed by a point.
The Pacers challenged the call. So did a number of pundits, including Stan Van Gundy on TNT, who called it “a great acting job” by DiVincenzo. Officials, however, upheld the call and so did the league’s Last 2-Minute Report when released on Tuesday.
Of course, it was not the first time in the playoffs that DiVincenzo had come up with a huge shot in the final seconds. His three-pointer at the end of Game 2 against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden capped a crazy sequence that allowed the Knicks to basically steal the win.
DiVincenzo is the first player since Ray Allen in 2009 to make multiple go-ahead threes in the final minute of a fourth quarter in a postseason. Dating to 1997, only four others have done it — Rashard Lewis (2009), Michael Finley (2006), Robert Horry (2002) and John Stockton (1997). Not bad company to be in.
There have also been stretches in the postseason where DiVincenzo has struggled. After hitting the game-winner in Game 2 against the 76ers, he totaled 22 points while shooting 8-for-28 over the next three games. The Knicks were 1-2 in those games.
“I believe every shot that I shoot is going in,” DiVincenzo said when asked how he comes back when he has been struggling.
This is something that Tom Thibodeau loves about him.
“Donte is very confident when he shoots. He’s surprised if he misses,” the Knicks coach said. “So, the next one is going up, you know . . . But it’s not a false bravado, because he puts an incredible amount of work into the game.”
DiVincenzo’s contributions are even more impressive when you consider that he is often given one of the tougher defensive assignments on the floor. After guarding Tyrese Maxey in Game 6 against the 76ers, DiVincenzo was assigned to be the primary defender on Haliburton, the Pacers’ All-Star guard, on Monday. Haliburton, who has been suffering from lower back pain, dished out eight assists and grabbed three steals but was held to six points and took just six shots.
Brunson couldn’t be happier to have DiVincenzo stepping up in the playoffs, especially since he once thought they would never play together.
“Obviously, it’s pretty cool seeing a guy who you thought you probably wouldn’t be teammates with, let alone friends with, is now one of your best friends, and he’s hitting a clutch shot,” Brunson said. “It’s a real cool sight to see, but knowing him and his mindset, he forgot about it once he woke up this morning. He’s just ready to move on.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.