Evan Fournier already was prepared to be erased once from the Knicks’ record books this season, but it now fully appears he will be knocked out twice by the same player.
Donte DiVincenzo nailed 11 3-pointers in Monday’s blowout win over the Pistons, one more than the previous mark Fournier had shared with J.R. Smith.
DiVincenzo also now trails Fournier’s club record of 241 made treys in one season by just seven with 11 games remaining for the Knicks.
“Not at all surprising, to be honest with you,” Fournier told The Post after scoring 15 points in 20 minutes for league-worst Detroit. “He’s definitely found his role, and congrats to him. He has great chemistry with these guys, especially JB [Jalen Brunson], and he’s very smart as far as finding the pocket for a 3 and he has such a quick release.
“He’s having a hell of a season and he deserves [the record]. He’s honestly the perfect fit for how they play, and I am happy for him.”
Fournier had snapped John Starks’ long-standing team record of 217 3-pointers (1995) during his first season with the Knicks two years ago, but he fell out of Tom Thibodeau’s rotation last year.
The little-used French guard and his $18.9 million salary then were included in the Knicks’ deadline deal in February for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
“I had fun breaking the record, but I never felt like it was a very hard record to beat, the way the game is played now, to be honest,” Fournier said. “My first year here it really took me a couple of months to figure out my role, but then once I understood that I was really here to shoot, my numbers took off.
“And he’s honestly such a great shooter, that I’m not surprised.”
The 31-year-old Fournier also fondly recalled his record-tying night with 10 3-pointers on Jan. 6, 2022, when he scored 41 points before RJ Barrett beat the Celtics and the buzzer with a desperation 3-pointer at the fourth-quarter horn.
“Yeah, I don’t want to take away from what Donte did tonight, but my game was definitely more exciting,” Fournier joked. “It was a national TV game, it was Boston, it was a close game, one of my best memories, for sure.”
Pistons coach Monty Williams wasn’t as complimentary of DiVincenzo or the Knicks afterward, clearly displeased they were still heaving 3s with the score out of reach.
“I don’t care about their team. I couldn’t care less,” Williams said. “Those guys, the way they got those 3s, I don’t want to be a part of that story.”
