Donte DiVincenzo, a Knicks hero of last season’s playoffs, has been ruled out of Friday’s MSG return because of a sprained toe, the Timberwolves announced.
It’ll represent the durable DiVincenzo’s first DNP of the season for the T’wolves and puts a damper on an anticipated matchup between offseason trade partners.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who went the other way in the trade (from Minnesota to New York), is questionable for the matchup with a sprained thumb.
Julius Randle, as a result, is the most certain Friday participant among the traded players.
And how will the Garden crowd react?
Before the DiVincenzo injury news, Josh Hart said both former Knicks will get uninterrupted applause.
“I don’t think there’s anything but cheers and ovations and anything like that,” Hart said. “Obviously [Randle], he was here like five years, helped turn the franchise around.
“[Donte] was only here one year, but he gave everything he could for the team and the city. So I don’t think there’s any other option.”
Jalen Brunson, on the other hand, couldn’t predict the welcome.
“I don’t know how the crowd is going to react to them,” the point guard said.
Just a couple of weeks removed from the trade that sent DiVincenzo and Randle to Minnesota, the pair returned to the Garden to a positive reaction for a mid-October preseason game.
It included video tributes and an argument between DiVincenzo and Rick Brunson that drew headlines but was quickly patched up.
Randle didn’t play that night while recovering from shoulder surgery, so Friday will be his first game as an opponent at MSG since 2018.
Randle was clearly motivated to beat the Knicks in their December matchup at Minnesota — giving plenty of indications there was no love lost — and left the court after the T’wolves’ defeat without embracing his former teammates.
After advancing to the conference finals last season, the Timberwolves (21-19) have largely been a disappointment and recently tinkered the lineup by starting DiVincenzo.
It helped boost the production of the former Knick, who is coming off a 28-point game Wednesday in a loss to the Warriors that also left him sidelined for MSG with a sprained toe.
The Knicks remained in their spots for the All-Star fan voting, but Brunson is gaining ground.
With the third returns announced Thursday, Brunson is fourth among East guards but only about 35,000 votes behind No. 3 Dame Lillard. In the previous returns, Brunson was about 65,000 votes shy of Lillard.
Towns is third among East frontcourt players and roughly 40,000 votes behind No. 2 Jayson Tatum. It’s roughly the same difference from the previous returns.
All-Star voting closes Jan. 20 at noon.
