SAN FRANCISCO — A trip to central California meant two reunions for Donte DiVincenzo, one with more fond feelings than the other.
In Golden State, where the Knicks play Monday night, feelings toward the organization are warm and fuzzy.
The Warriors helped resurrect DiVincenzo’s career last season, giving him an opportunity that landed him a big payday with the Knicks, worth around $50 million with four years at safety.
In Sacramento, where DiVincenzo played briefly in 2022, the story is spoiled by the Kings rescinding a qualifying offer just days before free agency.
The organization has all but abandoned DiVincenzo.
So before Saturday’s game in Sacramento, Tom Thibodeau had a conversation with his starting goaltender about the prospect.
“Nothing crazy. Just something quick,” DiVincenzo told the Post. “Just a reminder, don’t get too locked in – because everyone knows you want to try so hard to beat your old team, stick with it. But at the end of the day, when I’m at my best, I’m focused on this locker room and making good plays.
DiVincenzo then dropped 15 points against the Kings. He didn’t shoot well — missing 11 of 16 attempts, continuing a cold streak for the 27-year-old — but the Knicks won and DiVincenzo improved to 5-1 against the Kings since they took him. gave up.
DiVincenzo said the matchup was more personal last season when “it was still a little fresh from them in a different direction.”
On Saturday night, following his conversation with Thibodeau, “It was clear to me mentally, I wasn’t worried about what was going on there,” DiVincenzo said.
The Warriors reunion is all love. Stephen Curry helped recruit DiVincenzo and they all stay in touch.
“I watch a lot of their games because they’re on the West Coast, so we play our game and they usually play afterward,” DiVincenzo said. “Keep in touch with a lot of these guys. That is just about everything. It’s just a personal relationship rather than… there’s nothing like extra motivation or anything like that.
DiVincenzo averaged 9.4 points in his lone season with the Warriors, although the team’s campaign was derailed when Draymond Green hit Jordan Poole during practice.
“Everyone had been there for so long. I’m just coming. I was trying to keep my head down,” DiVincenzo said. “I was trying to spread as much positivity as possible. And I still talk to everyone. I’m talking to Draymond. I’m talking to Jordan. It’s like that. It happened.”
With Julius Randle still out indefinitely, DiVincenzo remains the No. 2 scoring option for the Knicks, but his current slump — which has resulted in 33.8 percent shooting over the past eight games — has required new help arrivals.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks finally came off the bench on Saturday against the Kings.
And while the bar is low — they only shot a combined 8 of 21 — it was necessary to get the win because Jalen Brunson couldn’t play 48 minutes and their production was timely in the fourth quarter.
“It’s huge for us. We know both guys are talented shooters,” Thibodeau said. “It’s difficult with the trades during the season, but you know what they’ve done throughout their career. We are lucky to have had them. [Saturday] It was a good day because they were big shots, and they were timely shots.
Burks logged just over four minutes in the previous game in Portland, the fewest minutes for him in five years. It was the culmination of a series of ugly games shortly after his acquisition from the Pistons.
But in Sacramento, he played more than 18 minutes and the Knicks outscored the Kings by 13 points with Burks on the court.
