The New York Knicks have surged to a 2-0 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs behind their Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
But underneath the trio’s great on-court chemistry was a dark past in which Brunson found himself serving as the pacifier between his two warring friends, DiVincenzo and Hart, who were not exactly the best of friends, back in college.
DiVincenzo hated Hart from the beginning, he revealed in a March 4 episode of the “Roommates Show” co-hosted by Brunson and Hart, because Hart, an upperclassman at that time, was bullying DiVincenzo, a freshman in 2015.
DiVincenzo and Hart were involved in multiple heated scuffles, and at one time Hart put DiVincenzo in a headlock, inside the Wildcats locker room.
“Donte couldn’t move,” Brunson said on the podcast.
“The thing about Josh is, I don’t ever see him lift,” said DiVincenzo, who was surprised at Hart’s strength. “But he is hella strong.”
From that point on, DiVincenzo decided to keep distance from Hart but they remained civil as much as possible, according to an ESPN story on April 22.
Donte DiVincenzo Swung a 10-Pound Plate at Josh Hart
Their most heated scuffle came during the 2016-17 season when the Wildcats failed to repeat as NCAA champions as recounted in the ESPN story.
But as the next season began, the Villanova team weight room was being renovated and DiVincenzo found himself in an open student fitness center jawing with Hart. Hart made some sort of insult that caused an agitated DiVincenzo to tell him, “Say it again,” as he stood with a 10-pound plate in his hand. Hart said it again, and DiVincenzo swung the weight at him.
The ensuing brawl was eventually broken up by teammates, including Brunson, and the two ended up having to meet with Wright. Wright couldn’t believe that DiVincenzo swung a weight at Hart. But he also couldn’t believe Hart said what he said — nobody who spoke with ESPN for this story would repeat it. “The plate should have hit him with what Josh said,” Brunson says now.
Nine years later after that incident, DiVincenzo and Hart found themselves as teammates again. But this time, the hatred has been replaced with closeness.
“Josh was just a bully,” DiVincenzo told ESPN, recalling that incident. A playful bully.”
‘Nova Knicks Return to Philly
The Knicks trio returns to Wells Fargo Center, their former homecourt as Wildcats, for Games 3 and 4, But unlike during their collegiate run where the crowd rallied behind them, they will meet a hostile Philadelphia crowd.
Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo have combined to average 58.0 of the Knicks’ 107.5-point scoring average in the first two games of the series.
Hart has been the most impressive among them like he was during their time together at Villanova. The do-it-all guard who dabbles as forward in Julius Randle’s absence is leading the Knicks in rebounds (14.0) and 3s made (4.0) and 3-point accuracy (53.3%) — the two critical factors that gave the Knicks a 2-0 lead.
Hart more than doubled his scoring production from 9.4 in the regular season to 21.5 points per game in the playoffs as the Sixers dared him to shoot while they blanketed Brunson.
The struggling Brunson still leads the Knicks in scoring with 23.0 per game but is only shooting a playoff career-worst 29.1% from the field.
“For the most part, I’ve been shooting the shots I’ve been shooting — the ones I’ve been making all year,” Brunson told reporters following Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, I just gotta be better and make the shots. I gave [Sixers] a lot of credit. It is what it is at this point. I just gotta be better.”
DiVincenzo, who sank the game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2, is averaging 13.5 points on 46.2% 3-point shooting. He and Hart have also chipped in 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals each in the first two games of the series.
“Those guys have been phenomenal,” Brunson told reporters. “At some point, I’ll get up to their level. I have the best teammates I could ask for.”
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