A former Knick had a career and historic night for his new team.
Malachi Flynn put up 50 points off the bench for Detroit while shooting 18 of 25 from the field and pulling down six rebounds in the Pistons’ 121-113 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday.
The massive effort tied Flynn for the second-most points off the bench in NBA history, and he was just seven points away from Pistons franchise history as well.
Only Jamal Crawford had more when he put up 51 points while coming off the bench on April 9, 2019 for the Suns.
Though the Pistons may have come up short on Wednesday night, the moment had to have felt good for Flynn, who was first traded to the Knicks as part of the deal that brought OG Anunoby to the Big Apple but then was dealt at the deadline by the Knicks to the Pistons for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic a few weeks later.
Neither player since coming to the Knicks has come close to having the big night Flynn had Wednesday for Detroit.
After the game, Flynn told reporters that it had been his first time ever putting up that many points, though he came close to doing it when he was in high school.
“I almost did in high school. I had 49 and my coach took me out. I still have a grudge,” Flynn said, according to The Athletic.
The 25-year-old has averaged 5.2 points per game during his career and has the lowest-scoring average in NBA history for any player that has had a 50-point game.
Flynn, whose previous career high was 27, was 18 for 25 from the floor and 9 for 12 at the line.
The 50 points was a franchise record for a reserve.
He also had a season-high six rebounds, five assists and five steals in 34 minutes.
“Right now, its tough because at the end of the day you want to win,” Flynn said after the Pistons’ loss, their 10th in their last 11 games. “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.”
“It’s tougher to put [in perspective] because you want to win. But it definitely feels good,” Flynn said. “I think in a couple days I’ll be able to put it into perspective.”
During is brief time with the Knicks he appeared in 14 games and averaged 4.3 minutes per game along with 2.2 points.
His best performance was in his final game with the Knicks when he put up six points and shot 2-for-4 from the field.
While his time with the Knicks was short, one of his former teammates gave him a shoutout on social media.
“Evil Donte went crazy!!!!” Josh Hart wrote on X, referencing Flynn’s nickname due to his similarities to Donte DiVincenzo.