Guarding Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey helped Donte DiVincenzo 'lock in' in Knicks' crucial Game 6 victory
Heading into Game 6 on Thursday night, Donte DiVincenzo had been a bit of a non-factor for the Knicks against the 76ers since knocking down the dagger three in the thrilling come-from-behind Game 2 victory at The Garden.
After dropping 19 points in that contest, the sharp-shooting guard put up single digits in each of the next three games while shooting a combined 3-for-17 (17 percent) from three-point land.
But when the Knicks desperately needed him to step up the most, DiVincenzo unsurprisingly came through with perhaps his best effort of the six-game series.
"You can't say enough about his overall play," head coach Tom Thibodeau said postgame. "Shot-making, hustle, defense. Maxey is a load to deal with... I think Donte's effort was terrific tonight."
DiVincenzo got off to a hot start knocking down his first three-point attempts, and he never looked back from there, finishing with a series-best 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting (55 percent) from three while dishing seven assists.
Most importantly, though, he played some tremendously pesky defense on Sixers All-Star PG Tyrese Maxey, who cooked the Knicks for 46 points to come-from-behind and avoid elimination in overtime in Game 5.
The 27-year-old former first-round pick said that adjustment and tough task on the defensive end is exactly what got him going in the crucial Game 6 victory.
"It had nothing to do with my shooting," DiVincenzo said. "I got myself going early in the game guarding Maxey. We made that adjustment, and I was locked in and ready to go. Having a tough matchup like that, you have to be locked in from the very beginning.
"And when you're playing with unselfish guys, you're going to get open looks, so I'm not worried about making or missing shots. For me, it was all about being locked in on the defensive end that got me going tonight."
DiVincenzo certainly was locked in from the start, as Philadelphia's breakout second-leading scorer wasn't able to get going until late in the fourth quarter, scoring just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting over the first 34 minutes of the contest.
Maxey would add 10 points down the stretch to finish the loss with 17, but it was a series-low for him, and he was unable to heat up from three, nailing just 1-of-6 attempts overall.
"We were just focused on making life difficult on them as best we could," OG Anunoby said of the team's defense on Maxey and Joel Embiid. "They're great players and they had great series, and they have other great players, so we were just trying to limit them and making things difficult."
As it turns out, Thibodeau and the Knicks made the perfect adjustment switching DiVincenzo onto the University of Kentucky product and it paid massive dividends, helping them advance and avoid a Game 7.
New York certainly will need its sharp-shooting small forward and ferocious defense to stay hot heading into the second-round matchup with the high-scoring Pacers, who eliminated the Bucks in six games.
