Bucks' DiVincenzo savors return to action after long absence

FILE - Milwaukee Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo makes a basket against the Orlando Magic during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. DiVincenzo always had a Christmas return on his mind as he made his comeback from an ankle injury that prevented him from joining his teammates for much of their drive to the championship last season. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) (John Raoux, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

MILWAUKEE ā€“ Milwaukee Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo had a Christmas return on his mind as he made his comeback from an ankle injury that kept him from joining his teammates for much of their championship ride last season.

DiVincenzo was right on target, though not quite in the way he imagined.

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He was on track to make his season debut in mid-December before the NBA's COVID-19 protocols set him back. DiVincenzo finally returned for a Christmas Day victory over the Boston Celtics and is ready to do whatever he can to help the Bucks in their title defense.

ā€œI targeted December the whole time and I just stuck by that,ā€ DiVincenzo said Monday. ā€œBecause for me, as a competitor, as a player, you want to have something to work towards. I didnā€™t want to just kind of go in every day and just start doing rehab. I had this mindset Iā€™m coming back in December. And ironically, in my head, I was saying Christmas.

ā€œSo, when they said, ā€˜Hey, youā€™re ready to come back the 15th,ā€™ or whatever, I felt great. I would take it because it's early. So then when the protocol happened, like I said, it was all part of Godā€™s plan for me. I came back on Christmas. I had that mindset the whole time and I just stuck by it.ā€

DiVincenzo scored three points and played 16 minutes in the 117-113 win on Saturday but is expected to have a larger role as the season progresses. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard started all 66 regular-season games he played last year and averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 37.9% from 3-point range.

But he didnā€™t get to do much in the playoffs. DiVincenzo tore a ligament in his left ankle in Game 3 of a first-round series with the Miami Heat. He wouldnā€™t play again until Saturday.

ā€œSeeing Donte out there was definitely a joy, just knowing what heā€™s been through and how much heā€™s meant to us and what heā€™s missed,ā€ guard Jrue Holiday said after the Celtics game. ā€œI know he loves the game, loves being out there.ā€

DiVincenzo, 24, said he felt a little rusty Saturday because he was unable to practice with the team while in the protocols. He said he was asymptomatic, but he still had to do his conditioning work at home and couldnā€™t use the team facility.

ā€œIā€™m doing my pregame shooting and the ball feels a little weird,ā€ DiVincenzo said. ā€œYou donā€™t think 10 days go by and youā€™re going to kind of lose feel and lose touch to it, but Iā€™m telling you, youā€™re such a creature of habit and routine, when you donā€™t have that every day, it messes you up for a little while.ā€

DiVincenzo played on two national championship teams at Villanova and was named the most outstanding player of the 2018 Final Four. Heā€™d love to match that total in the NBA by helping Milwaukee win a second straight title.

Only this time, heā€™d actually be playing rather than watching and rehabbing.

DiVincenzo acknowledged that it wasnā€™t easy having to deal with an injury while the Bucks made their championship run. He credited Bucks guard George Hill and former teammates Eric Bledsoe and Jeff Teague for helping him through the lengthy recovery.

Whenever he was feeling down, DiVincenzo could ask one of those veterans how they dealt with similar situations.

ā€œEverybody goes through struggles being away from what they do, and those three guys really helped me out,ā€ DiVincenzo said. ā€œAnd I had my family. My familyā€™s really my backbone. Even being out, I was the MVP last year to my family. Having that support is so important for me. Good day, bad day, whatever it is, they build me up and keep me up high.ā€

Now he is back and eager to have more good days than bad days.

ā€œIā€™m healthy,ā€ DiVincenzo said. ā€œI feel great. My body feels good, so thatā€™s all I can ask for.ā€

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