The Tasteful Eight: DiVincenzo, Knicks Mute Jazz For 8th Straight Win
The road warrior made himself at home on Tuesday night.
Donte DiVincenzo's mastery of the three paved the way to the eight, namely the New York Knicks' eighth straight victory. Despite missing both OG Anunoby and Julius Randle for the second straight game, the Knicks once again handled business at Madison Square Garden, this time muting the Utah Jazz with a 118-103 final.
New York (31-17) finished January with a 14-2 record, reaching that win tally in a month for the first time since March 1994. The eight-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in the NBA this season and the Knicks are also an even 5-5 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season.
DiVincenzo paced the Knicks with 33 points in the win. The former Golden State Warrior has mostly fulfilled every expectation placed upon him in his first season with the Knicks, but most of his finer hours have come on the road. Prior to Tuesday's tilt, DiVincenzo had not scored 20 points in any of his first 21 showings at MSG.
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
That changed and then some as he put up one of the finest single-game outside shooting efforts in Knicks history: with a career-best in successful three-pointers, DiVincenzo became just the seventh New Yorker to hit at least nine in a single game, one short of the team record shared by Evan Fournier and JR Smith.
DiVincenzo's showcase from deep wasn't the only landmark showing in the Knicks' makeshift starting five, which was missing OG Anunoby (elbow inflammation) and Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder) for the second straight game.
Jalen Brunson didn't add to his tally of 30-point games (falling one short at 29) but Precious Achuiwa tied his season-best at 18. Isaiah Hartenstein got back in the double-double department with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Josh Hart earned the first triple-double of his career with a serendipitous 10-10-10 box score.
Much like Monday's win over Charlotte, the Knicks overcame a slow start with a brilliant third period, pulling away from an eight-point halftime advantage with a 36-24 tally to open the second half. New York impressed on both sides of the ball, as they forced six Utah turnovers and lost none of their own. All but six of the Knicks' points came in a seven-plus minute stretch that saw them go on a 30-6 run. Between eight points of his own, three assists, and two steals in that span, DiVincenzo played a role in 16 tallies of the fateful stretch.
With the loss, Utah (24-25) failed to salvage a six-game road trip to the East Coast, going 2-4 in that span. Collin Sexton sang lead with 22 points, which was far from enough to overcome 14 turnovers and a 33 percent success rate from three-point range, a number that dipped to 29 when removing Simone Fontecchio's 4-of-8 output.
The Knicks' monthly record drops back to 0-0 on Thursday and they'll look to start February on a high, emotional note against the returning Obi Toppin and his Indiana Pacers (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
