Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo Started Beefing With Much Bigger Pacers Player
New York brought the passion in Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers and lit the competition up.
As the Knicks started to run away with the game, NY guard Donte DiVincenzo played to the Knicks' home crowd, which snowballed into starting a beef with Pacers center Myles Turner.
DiVi and Turner had to be separated during the third quarter after a hard screen put Donte on his back. DiVincenzo had scored on a put-back dunk moments earlier, and the Pacers responded with extra muscle. He kept going at the Pacers, even calling Myles Turner a "b**ch" during the heated jawing. It's also worth noting that the 6-foot-11 Turner towered over DiVincenzo, standing several inches shorter.
Donte started it and managed to finish it in the end. New York decimated Indiana, 121-91, for a 3-2 series edge in Game 5.
NEW YORK - Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers and Donte DiVincenzo of the New York Knicks are separated after an altercation during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 14. The Knicks won 121-91. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
DiVincenzo's fiery presence in the game was felt amid a lousy shooting night for the confident Villanova alum. After Game 5, DiVincenzo followed up his on-court taunts by calling out the Pacers acting ‘tough.’
"They're trying to be tough guys. And that's not their identity, and there is nothing more to that," DiVincenzo said on Tuesday. "I don't agree with trying to walk up on somebody. Nobody is going to fight in the NBA. So take the foul, keep it moving. You're not a tough guy."
The Nova 3, comprised of DiVi, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, has commanded the series against Indy. Adding reserve guard Miles McBridge to the lineup bolstered the Knicks' recipe for success. McBride contributed 17 points and held Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton in check all evening, limiting Haliburton to 13 points on 5 of 19 shooting.
NEW YORK - Donte DiVincenzo of the New York Knicks dribbles against Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 14. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
New York is making the case as the scrappiest team in the NBA Playoffs. And until Indiana can present a consistent source of scoring beyond Haliburton, it's tough to imagine New York dropping the series.
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