PHILADELPHIA — Donte DiVincenzo understood and embraced his duties on both ends of the floor and helped lead the Knicks to a decisive series victory.
DiVincenzo had slowed down after hitting the winning shot in Game 2, but made five 3-pointers and two late free throws in Thursday’s Game 6 win over the Sixers. spearheaded the shutdown against All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey.
After his Game 2 heroics, DiVincenzo had missed 14 of 17 attempts over the past three games, but finished with 23 points after sinking two treys in the first quarter on Thursday. Ta.
“To be honest, it had nothing to do with filming. I got fired up defending Maxey early in the match,” DiVincenzo said after the match. “We made that adjustment so we were ready and ready to go. In a tough matchup like this, you have to be solid from the start.
“So, I think that led to me moving faster. And when you’re playing with guys that are unselfish, you know that you’re going to be looked at with open eyes, so you can make or miss shots.” I don’t worry about what I’m going to do. I think for me it was about being solid on the defensive end, and that’s what propelled me forward.”
DiVincenzo made 5 of 10 shots and made 4 3-pointers in the Knicks’ come-from-behind victory in Game 2, but other than that he shot a floor shooting percentage of .289 (an inexplicable 3-pointer). He had a success rate of .227 from point land). 4 games going into Game 6.
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In addition to breaking through offensively, DiVincenzo helped the Knicks hold Maxey to a series-low 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting.
“I can’t say enough about Donte, his all-around game, his shot-making, his hustle, his defense,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Maxey is a burden that you have to deal with, pick-and-rolls, transitions, everything. You have to keep moving with him because he doesn’t stop moving when he gets off the ball. Donte’s effort I thought it was amazing.”
Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
DiVincenzo, 27, averaged 38.2 minutes, 21.0 points and 4.6 3-pointers per game in the final 35 games of the regular season, and his playing time and performance increased to 28.6 minutes and 9.8 points in the first five games. I felt depressed. and 1.8 trays.
Reserve combo guard Myles McBride has twice played more minutes than DiVincenzo in the first five games, scoring 21 points in 28 minutes in Game 1 and losing in OT to the Knicks on Tuesday night. He had a performance of 14 points in 33 minutes.
However, DiVincenzo played the full 48 minutes of court time in Game 6, while McBride played just nine minutes off the bench.
