New York Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo, left, passes to teammate Isaiah Hartenstein, front, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
NEW YORK (AP) — Donte DiVincenzo was on the verge of history and in a hurry to get there.
Needing one more 3-pointer to break a franchise record, DiVincenzo found himself a bit flustered by a crowd that wanted him to fire as soon as he touched the ball from wherever he was, the way fans usually respond to Stephen Curry.
“Yes, it’s an amazing feeling having the crowd behind you,” DiVincenzo said, “but also like every time you touch the ball, they’re like, ‘Shoot! Shoot!”
So he did, until he finally hit his franchise-record 11th 3-pointer. DiVinzenzo scored a career-best 40 points, leading the New York Knicks to a 124-99 rout of Detroit on Monday night for their 15th straight victory over the Pistons.
DiVincenzo broke the Knicks’ single-game record of 10 that was held by J.R. Smith and Evan Fournier, and moved into third in the NBA in 3-pointers made this season. He would have had one more, but one of his 3s in the third quarter was later overturned because he had first stepped out of bounds.
But the swingman stayed in the blowout long enough to get the record-setter with 3:16 remaining, then checked out shortly after to an ovation.
“Impressive, and he’s been doing it all year,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought his teammates helped create good shots for him, he knocked them down and played hard the whole game.”
Jalen Brunson added 28 points, and Josh Hart had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his sixth triple-double this season. The Knicks won for the sixth time in seven games and remained a half-game behind Cleveland for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Marcus Sasser scored 24 points for the NBA-worst Pistons, who lost their seventh straight and fell to 12-60. They shot 39% while playing…
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