The former Knick had a career and historic night with his new team.
Malachi Flynn scored 50 points, made 18 of 25 from the field and grabbed six rebounds off Detroit’s bench in the Pistons’ 121-113 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday.
With this performance, Flynn is tied for the second-most points off the bench in NBA history, and just seven points shy of the most points in Pistons franchise history.
Only Jamal Crawford has scored more points, coming off the bench for the Suns on April 9, 2019, when he scored 51 points.
The Pistons may have fallen short on points Wednesday night, but the moment must have felt good for Flynn. He was first traded to the Knicks as part of the deal that brought OG Anunoby to the Big Apple, then traded at the deadline. A few weeks later, the Knicks acquired Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons.
Since coming to the Knicks, neither player has come close to the great night Flynn had Wednesday in Detroit.
After the game, Flynn told reporters it was the first time he had scored so many points, but he came close to doing so in high school.
“That happened most of the time in high school. I scored 49 points and my coach took me out. I still hold a grudge,” Flynn said. According to The Athletic.
The 25-year-old has averaged 5.2 points per game during his career, the lowest average in NBA history among players with 50 points.
“It’s harder to put down [in perspective] Because I want to win. But it definitely feels good,” Flynn said. “I think I’ll be able to put things into perspective in a few days.”
In his short time with the Knicks, he appeared in 14 games, averaging 4.3 minutes and 2.2 points per game.
His best performance came in his final game against the Knicks, when he scored six points and made 2 of 4 field goals.
Although his time with the Knicks was short, one of his former teammates sent a shoutout to him on social media.
“Evil Donte has gone crazy!!!” Josh Hart wrote of X, referring to Flynn’s nickname due to his similarity to Donte DiVincenzo.
