New York Knicks Ex Malachi Flynn Scores 50 Points: Josh Hart Lauds 'Evil Donte'

Former New York Knicks acquisition Malachi Flynn put up an unexpected 50-point game for the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Apr 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Malachi Flynn (14) dribbles up the court / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Malachi Flynn went from zero-to-50 in 34 minutes for the Motor City on Wednesday night.

The brief New York Knick put forth one perhaps of the most unexpected scoring deluges in recent Association memory for the Detroit Pistons, scoring 50 points in a 121-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Flynn is just the third player in NBA history to score 50 off the bench and joins Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, and former teammate Jalen Brunson among the ranks of half-century scorers this season.

"Right now, it's tough, because at the end of the day, you want to win," Flynn said in a report from ESPN. "But it does feel good to kind of take in the moment. I'm sure a couple of days from now, it will feel really good."

Apr 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Malachi Flynn (14) goes to the basket past / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Another former comrade, Josh Hart, took note of Flynn's performance as the Knicks prepare for a Thursday visit from the Sacramento Kings (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) by resurrecting Flynn's former nickname garnered from his time in New York.

"Evil Donte went crazy!!!!" Hart declared, playing on Flynn's passing resemblance to lingering Knick Donte DiVincenzo.

Flynn came to New York as part of the deal headlined by OG Anunoby's move to Manhattan but the former Toronto Raptor struggled to find a lasting role in the Knicks rotation, averaging just 4.3 minutes in 14 appearances. He was later dealt to the Pistons at the trade deadline in the barter that gave the Knicks Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

Flynn's memorable scoring output is perhaps the most notable contribution from anyone involved in that trade so far: Bogdanovic and Burks have struggled to find an offensive rhythm with the Knicks while the Knicks' primary export in the deal, Quentin Grimes, is out for the season. If anything, Wednesday's performance should at least convince Pistons management to offer Flynn some extended time to show he can be part of the team's ongoing reclamation project as they play out a meaningless stretch of final regular season games.