The New York Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons 124-99 on Monday night. Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 40 points and set a new Knicks franchise record with 11 three-pointers, but not everyone liked his performance. Especially Detroit head coach Monty Williams, who I said as much after the game.
“I don’t care about their team at all,” Williams said. “I do not care. These guys, the way they got these three. I don’t want to be part of this story.
Williams may be right here. The Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a 95-66 lead and the Pistons never got closer than the final margin of 25 points in the final quarter. The game was therefore on when DiVincenzo made his record-breaking shot with 3:16 left.
While Steve Kerr is busy managing Stephen Curry’s minutes at Golden State, Tom Thibodeau is Tom Thibodeau in New York. Three Knicks starters played more than 40 minutes in a blowout win over the NBA’s worst team. DiVincenzo was one of those starters and ended up making seven three-point attempts in the fourth quarter to break the record. No wonder Williams, whose team is 12-60 this season, wasn’t happy.
DiVincenzo’s teammate Josh Hart responded to Williams’ salty quote with the ultimate response to any complaint about someone breaking the unwritten rules: If you don’t like it, do something.
“If he didn’t want to be part of history, he should have told his guys to defend better. What do you mean? If you have a hot guy, you’re going to try to find the “A guy who’s hot . This is common sense basketball. ”
The Knicks and Pistons won’t see each other again until next season, so Williams has plenty of time to relay this message.
Stephen Douglas is a writer for The Big Lead.
