Dante's Inferno

New York's resident flamethrower set a franchise record in a blowout over the Pistons.

Good morning! I hope you got a chance to enjoy all 11 of ‘dem thangs, courtesy of the Big Ragu. What a night at the Garden…

Game 71: Knicks 124, Pistons 99

Donte’s record-breaking 11th three

In a New York minute…

This one was over almost as soon as it began, with the Knicks jumping out to a 9-2 start and going on a 20-0 run before the end of the first quarter. An 8-0 Pistons run in the second briefly cut a 24-point lead to 16, but New York steadied the ship before halftime and opened the third with an onslaught, which gave way to the only real drama of the night: would Donte DiVincenzo set the Knicks single game record for most 3-pointers with 11? It took him a while, but he finally broke through late in the fourth with the result of the game long since decided.

And with that, Donte is officially in the history books.

Three Things

1. “Paradiso”. That’s the name of the third part of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, following Inferno and Purgatorio. After what Knicks fans have experienced for much of this century, even without any real playoff success, you can forgive us for feeling like we are in the midst of paradise.

There are many reasons for that - winning is more fun than losing, for one - but last night, Donte DiVincenzo put the spotlight on how this franchise finally addressed a hole that had dogged it for years.

In a league that has come to be defined by shooting, it’s been a long time since the Knicks have had a guy who could bend a defense at his will in this specific way.

Well, they got one now.

DiVincenzo still has a ways to go before he’s considered the greatest Knick shooter of the last 20 years, let alone of all time. Allan Houston, J.R. Smith, Steve Novak, Danilo Galinari, Jamal Crawford and even Carmelo Anthony would all like a word in that convo.

But for one night, he did the thing better than any Knick ever has, setting the franchise record with 11 made 3-point field goals. Only seven players have ever made more in an NBA game. Within the next week, he’ll pass Evan Fournier for the most made threes by a Knick in a single season, with an outside shot at finishing with one of the 20 most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in NBA history.

Fournier was supposed to be the guy who ended this drought, where New York was always on the wrong end of someone else’s historic night, but his limitations were nearly as prevalent as his shooting touch, and the team moved on from him (as a rotation player, at least) almost as soon as it acquired him.

Before Evan, we had J.R., who went into last night tied with Fournier for most threes in a game with 10. Like Fournier, Smith’s warts got him sent out of town shortly after he reached his 3-point pinnacle.

It was a similar story for many that came before as well. Steve Novak tied for third in the league in threes in 2012, but wasn’t someone whose larger body of work warranted starter’s minutes. Before Smith and Steve, it was Danilo Galinari, who quietly finished second in the NBA in total threes in 2010, but was the cost of doing business in the Melo trade. Jamal Crawford had his moments, but was never surrounded by enough talent here for his shooting touch to take center stage.

Not since John Starks (who remains the only Knick to lead the league in 3-point field goals) has a good Knicks team employed a core player of this magnitude whose shooting demanded the attention of every defense they faced.

Until now.

Starks set his mark in 1995, nearly three decades ago. Since then, we have been through all nine circles of the inferno, looking for this level of shooting in a player whose overall game demands that he stay on the floor at the biggest moments.

In Donte, they’ve finally found what they’ve been searching for.

It only took going to the depths of hell and back to get it.