Donte DiVincenzo made himself right at home in his return to Madison Square Garden.
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard, who was acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks earlier this month, appeared to talk trash with his former coaches when the two teams played on Sunday.
"Obviously they had me on video saying it," DiVincenzo told reporters after the game. "I'm not there anymore. I play competitive. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that's all it was."
DiVincenzo and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, the father of Jalen Brunson, seemingly had to be separated while exchanging words after the game.
DiVincenzo, who in 2023 signed a four-year deal with New York as a free agent, averaged a career-high 15.5 points in his lone season with the Knicks. The team acquired Mikal Bridges in an offseason trade with the Brooklyn Nets, creating a logjam on the wing that was likely to relegate DiVincenzo back to the bench.
DiVincenzo, who started 63 games for the Knicks last season and set a franchise record for 3s in a season, was then traded to Minnesota with Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns in a surprising deal just before preseason was set to begin.
NBA
Playing in his first game back at the Garden on Sunday, DiVincenzo scored nine first-quarter points and appeared to let Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau hear about it while at the free throw line in front of the New York bench.
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"Thank you for the trade, Thibs," DiVincenzo said.
"That's what happens when they let you run the show," he added while looking in the direction of the Knicks' bench.
DiVincenzo finished with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting and added seven assists, but the Knicks went on to win 115-110. Randle -- who spent five seasons with the Knicks, becoming a two-time All-Star -- did not play.
Towns had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the Knicks' victory.
The two teams meet in the regular season on Dec. 19 in Minnesota and on Jan. 17 in New York.
"There's absolutely nothing but love from my end to the organization," DiVincenzo told reporters.
