Warriors' Donte DiVincenzo on Facing 76ers in Return to Philly

Former Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo discusses his return to the Wells Fargo Center Friday night.

Delaware native and former Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo made his return to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Friday night.

While Friday’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Warriors certainly wasn’t DiVincenzo’s first time playing in Philly since his ‘Nova days, it was the first matchup at the Wells Fargo Center that DiVincenzo participated in as a member of the Warriors.

To say that DiVincenzo was a man on a mission Friday night would be an understatement. With the Warriors undermanned and missing three starters, DiVincenzo picked up his third start of the year. In his first 12 minutes of action, the veteran forward put the Sixers’ defense to work.

Putting up seven shots from the field, with six coming from beyond the arc, DiVincenzo scored 15 points in the first quarter. He helped the Warriors outscore Philadelphia 38-33 out of the gate. 

“DiVincenzo, I kept seeing a Villanova jersey,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers after the matchup. “He was phenomenal at the beginning of the game.”

“If I’m open, I’m taking them,” said the former Villanova star. “Just trying to be aggressive and flow with the offense. Luckily, in the first quarter and first half, they were going in. I’m just playing basketball. I’m not thinking I need to get five threes a night because I’m back home. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I still defend and rebound and move the ball.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and the veteran big man Kevon Looney both acknowledged that DiVincenzo had a little extra juice on Friday, considering the circumstances. 

“Coming home is always fun, and you knew Donte would come out with energy,” said Kerr. “The fact that he knocked down, I think, five threes in the first quarter. At least four. It was fantastic. He did his usual great job of bringing energy and life to the game. He had ten rebounds. And moving the ball, he had six assists. I thought Donte was great tonight.”

“Donte’s back in Philly -- the kid has a level of excitement coming into the game already,” Looney added. “He kind of set the tone for us. We kind of followed his lead to start the game off.” 

While DiVincenzo’s hot start helped put the Warriors out in front and keep a lead over the Sixers throughout the entire first half, Golden State’s early success wasn’t sustainable. And DiVincenzo didn’t have the same impact in the final quarters.

A 15-point first half was followed up with a two-point showing from DiVincenzo in the second half. As the veteran struggled from the field, knocking down just one of his six shots, DiVincenzo and the Warriors struggled to overcome the Sixers on Friday, taking on a 118-106 loss. Despite coming up short in his homecoming, DiVincenzo felt good to be back.

“It’s cool,” said the veteran. “Honestly, it’s always a great feeling coming home and looking up, and you see the Villanova banners up there. I always point it out to my teammate when we have shootarounds. When I was with Milwaukee and now here. It’s a great feeling having the fans cheer when most of them boo when the visiting team gets announced. So, it’s a super cool feeling. I wish we came out with the win, but it’s super cool to play here.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.