Monty Williams Didn't Like How Donte DiVincenzo Set a Knicks Record Against the Pistons
Donte DiVincenzo was still in the game taking 3's with the Knicks up big in the fourth.
The New York Knicks beat 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 enjoyed his performance. Especially Detroit head coach Monty Williams, who said as much after the game.
“I don’t care about their team at all,” Williams said. “I couldn’t care less. Those guys, the way they got those threes. I don’t want to be a part of that story.”
Williams may have a point here. The Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a 95-66 lead and the Pistons never got any closer than the final margin of 25 points during the final frame. So the game was over over by the time DiVincenzo hit his record-setting shot with 3:16 remaining.
While Steve Kerr is busy managing Stephen Curry's minutes in Golden State, Tom Thibodeau is being Tom Thibodeau in NYC. Three Knicks starters played 40-plus minutes in a blowout win over the worst team in the NBA. DiVincenzo was one of those starters and ended up taking 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 about it.
"If he didn't wanna be part of the story, he should've told his guys to defend better. What do you want to say? If you've got a guy that's hot, you're going to try to find the guy who's hot. That's common sense basketball."
The Knicks and Pistons will not meet again until next season so Williams has plenty of time to relay that message.
Stephen Douglas is a writer at The Big Lead.