The New York Knicks gave Donte DiVincenzo a video tribute in his first game back at Madison Square Garden since last month's trade that sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The shooting guard responded by spewing fire on the Knicks, both on and off the court.
Donte showed the scoring ability that made him a big part of the Knicks' success last season. He also trash-talked the Knicks while taking two free throws in the first quarter and concluded his NY homecoming by having a heated verbal exchange with Knicks assistant coach and Jalen Brunson's dad, Rick.
While all that happened, Timberwolves superstar guard Anthony Edwards loved what he saw from his new teammate and was all praise for him.
"F****** incredible," Edwards said after the game when asked about playing with Donte. "I don't need the ball. You see it. I'm having fun, man. It's fun to play with Donte. I haven't even got to play with Julius yet, so we see what that looks like, but playing with Donte is—f***, I'm not going to lie—it's fun as hell."
Ant says the Knicks will miss Donte
The Timberwolves surrendered 2015 NBA Draft top pick Karl Anthony Towns in the deal that brought them DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. Randle didn't play against his former team as he continues to rehab from injury. But Ant-Man got to play his second game with the former Knick, who did not disappoint.
Donte scored 15 points on six-11 shooting, including two-5 from three-point distance in the 110-115 loss. He also pulled down three rebounds with seven assists, and one steal in 27 minutes of action. More importantly, he displayed aggressiveness and competitive fire in going at his former team, including chirping with their bench.
"He motivated every night," Edwards added. "Even when I used to play against him like busting through screens. When he going downhill, he's going downhill. So, he's aggressive with everything that he do, so you can't be mad at him. He make all the right plays. f****** shoot the cover off the ball. I know New York gonna miss him."
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DiVincenzo dismissed beef with Brunson Sr.
Meanwhile, DiVincenzo downplayed his post-game exchange of words with Knicks assistant and Jalen Brunson's dad Rick. Donte was overheard by TV cameras yelling at Rick, 'I was talking to Thibs.' That's when the elder Brunson's facial expression began to change, and their interaction looked heated.
DiVincenzo was asked to whom he directed his 'That's what happens when they let you run the show' comment to the Knicks bench in the first quarter. He said it was a general statement to the bench . However, based on his post-game altercation with Rick, that may not have been the case.
Donte is coming off his best NBA season yet, scoring 15.5 points per game while making 3.5 three-point shots per game at a 40.1% three-point shooting clip. Although the Knicks added Mikal Bridges and KAT, who will more than make up for the loss of his points production, neither brings the kind of fire that the Villanova product plays with. That's what the Knicks will miss the most.
Related: Jaylen Brown claims he was left off the All-Defensive Team last season: "I guarded the best player on every team and picked up full court"
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