Donte DiVincenzo shines in start as Knicks beat Hornets for 6th win in last 7 games
This is what it looks like when the schedule is set up in your favor.
This is also what it looks like when a team has as deep a roster as the 2023-24 Knicks.
The Knicks had the NBA’s toughest opening seven games but have stuck the landing in the second leg of their schedule.
After going 3-4 against playoff-caliber competition, New York defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 122-108, for its third win in a row. The Knicks have won six of their last seven games, the only loss coming to a championship-contending Boston Celtics team.
And it was Donte DiVincenzo who starred for the Knicks on Saturday.
DiVincenzo — nicknamed “The Big Rage” — got the start for the Knicks in place of Quentin Grimes, who is day-to-day with a sprained wrist.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 of his team-high 32 points in the first half alone, and DiVincenzo shot 7 of 10 from downtown and finished with 25 points.
It’s the pico-top of the season for DiVincenzo, who the Knicks signed to a four-year, $46.8 million deal as the lone offseason acquisition in a quiet summer.
In Grimes’ absence, DiVincenzo — one of four Villanova products on the Knicks’ roster — made his case for the starting nod.
Grimes, of course, is the Knicks’ best perimeter defender and is shooting a career-high 40% from 3. He would have assuredly been the defensive assignment on LaMelo Ball, who hit eight 3s on 13 attempts and finished with 34 points and nine assists.
Hornets rookie Brandon Miller scored 29 points and hit five 3s in a breakout game, and Miles Bridges (19 points) played his second game of the season in his return to the Hornets after serving a 30-game suspension for domestic violence charges.
Julius Randle, who finished with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds, took a shot to the eye late in the fourth quarter.
RJ Barrett, who returned to the rotation after missing three games with a migraines, scored 15 points on 15 shot attempts. Brunson fueled the Knicks with a strong first half.
The Knicks built a double-digit lead early in the first quarter and gave it back twice — once in the second quarter when the Hornets cut the lead to five, and again in the fourth when a Hornets run brought the deficit back down to single digits before Tom Thibodeau brought the starters back into the game.
Mitchell Robinson dominated a poor rebounding Hornets team and snagged 14 rebounds, including a whopping 11 on the offensive glass. Robinson shot 2 of 5 from the field for four points and blocked four shots.
The Knicks outrebounded the Hornets, 47-36, and shot 16 of 37 from downtown, though they allowed the Hornets (3-9) to shoot close to 50% from both the field and 3-point range.
A healthy Grimes helps the Knicks on the defensive side of the ball, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.
The Knicks are rolling, but the schedule always comes back around: They have a date in Minnesota against a Timberwolves team that owns the league’s best defense.
The Wolves (8-3) rank third in the Western Conference.
It will be the toughest challenge the Knicks have faced since their loss to the Celtics, which was the first game they played against a deep playoff caliber opponent since going 3-4 in their opening seven games.
