On Monday, the New York Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons by the score of 124-99. The result shouldn’t surprise anyone as Detroit has the league’s worst record and was without much of their roster including Cade Cunningham. Fans at Madison Square Garden may not have witnessed a game outcome that was in question, but they did witness quite the performance by Donte DiVincenzo.
The 27-year-old DiVincenzo connected on 11 three-pointers in the Knicks victory. That is the most in a single game in team history. The six-year pro scored a total of 40 points, breaking his previous career-high of 38.
A CAREER NIGHT FOR DONTE DIVINCENZO 👌
🔥 40 PTS, a new career high
🔥 11 3-pointers, a new Knicks franchise record pic.twitter.com/iVZJg9ebxa— NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024
Knicks Sharpshooter Breaks Team Single-Game Record in Win
Who Previously Held the Record Prior to DiVincenzo?
Before Donte DiVincenzo’s game on Monday, New York’s team record for threes made in a game had been 10. It was done by two Knicks players.
It was first accomplished by J.R. Smith on April 6, 2014. The effort came in a 102-91 loss to the Miami Heat. Named Sixth Man of the Year in 2012-13, Smith attempted 28 shots that game. Twenty-two of those came from three-point territory, and he made 10 of them.
Evan Fournier was able to tie the previous team record on January 6, 2022. All ten of his made threes were needed in a tight 108-105 win over the Boston Celtics. Fournier scored 41 points and connected on ten threes in 14 tries.
DiVincenzo was able to get his 11th three-point make on his 20th try. This is not the only team record that DiVincenzo will surpass Fournier for owning this season.
Divincenzo Closing in on Single-Season Team Record
With his 11 made threes on Monday, DiVincenzo has now made 234 on the season. With 11 games remaining for New York, he needs just eight more to have the most in a season in team history.
In the 2021-22 season, Fournier nailed 241 threes in his 80 games played. That surpassed John Starks for the franchise’s most in a season. Starks hit on 217 in the 1994-95 season. Julius Randle’s 218 made three-pointers last season is the only other time a Knicks player reached 200 in a season.
DiVincenzo’s 234 made threes this season are the third-most in the league. He is only behind Stephen Curry’s 312 and Luka Doncic’s 240.
DiVincenzo has Turned Out to be Quite the Free Agent Signing
This past offseason, Donte DiVincenzo and the Knicks agreed on a four-year, $46.87 million deal. He is signed through the 2026-27 season.
While it looked like DiVincenzo was signed to be a key reserve, that changed early in the season. DiVincenzo came off the bench in his first 11 games and 18 of his first 20. He overtook the since-traded Quentin Grimes as the team’s starting shooting guard, and he has started his last 49 outings.
Drafted 17th overall in 2018, it has been a career-year for DiVincenzo. He is averaging 14.9 points per game, 4.5 more than his previous career-high of 10.4 in 2020-21 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Knicks sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings at 43-28, just a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers who are in third.
