Knicks' Josh Hart Fires Back at Monty Williams' Donte DiVincenzo Complaints
There's no love lost between Josh Hart and Monty Williams after the latest grind between their respective New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons.
Hart and Williams were two of over 18,000 witnesses to history during the Knicks' 124-99 victory on Monday night at Madison Square Garden: Donte DiVincenzo put forth a career-best 40-point performance, building his memorable tally with 11 three-pointers, a new Knicks franchise record for a single game.
DiVincenzo's prowess from deep obviously wowed most gathered at MSG but Williams, the Pistons' first-year head coach, was far from one of them.
“I don’t care about their team at all,” Williams said, per Christian Arnold of the New York Post. “I couldn’t care less. Those guys, the way they got those threes. I don’t want to be a part of that story.”
Informed of Williams' analysis, Hart refused to mince words in his response.
“If he doesn’t want to be a part of that story, he should have told his guys to defend him,” Hart retorted, per Barbara Barker of Newsday. “What am I supposed to say? We got a guy who is hot. We have to try to find a guy who is hot. That’s common-sense basketball.”
Williams appeared to be peeved about the historic process: six of DiVincenzo's 11 three-pointers came in the second half, which began with the Knicks up 17 and never got any lower. DiVincenzo was originally believed to have tied the previous record of 10 in the third quarter, but officials removed one from his tally after ruling that he stepped out of bounds on one successful attempt. That gave him nine entering the final period, one short of the top mark shared by JR Smith and current Piston Evan Fournier.
With the outcome long-decided, the Knicks spent the final dozen minutes feeding DiVincenzo in an attempt to make history. It took seven tries to earn the elusive couple but he eventually did so with 3:16 remaining, giving the Knicks a 29-point lead. DiVincenzo was removed at the game's next stoppage 11 seconds later, officially closing the daily book for the Knicks' starters.
It's been a trying first year at the helm for Williams, whose nine-year playing career began as a Knick in 1994. Detroit (12-60) has endured a historically brutal campaign, one that featured the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history (28). The Pistons played Monday's game without eight of their regular men, including franchise faces Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren as well as Quentin Grimes, another former Knick who was the headlining export of a February deal that brought Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to Manhattan.
A couple of flights home from New York have been particularly brutal for Williams, who blamed the Pistons' prior loss at MSG, a 113-111 decision on Feb. 26, on a lack of foul call against DiVincenzo, who was diving for a loose ball against Ausar Thompson in the final minute. The no-call eventually yielded a game-winning and-one opportunity for Hart, who posted his sixth triple-double of both his season and career in Monday's win.
Fortunately for Williams, the Pistons don't face the Knicks again this season after falling victim to a season sweep for the fourth consecutive season. New York instead faces the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Ontario (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks