Grimes replaced as starter by DiVincenzo

BOSTON — Days after venting about his lack of opportunities, Quentin Grimes was replaced in the starting lineup by Donte DiVincenzo and seemed to gain confidence.

The move, which meant Grimes came off the bench for the first time in the regular season in over a year, led to the 23-year-old scoring more points (13) with more shot attempts (10) than his previous three games. It was embraced by Grimes, who was hoping to get more shots with the second unit since it doesn’t have as many ball-dominant players.

Grimes said he was informed of the change by coach Tom Thibodeau.

“He kind of let me know to try to get me a better rhythm, get me in a better flow, try to get me how I was playing last year,” Grimes said. “He felt like it was the best thing to do and I agree with him. It’s a good thing.”

He added that, “I’ll definitely have the ball more, knowing I’m going to get more opportunities. It could be a better situation for me.”

Grimes had been the starting shooting guard for 83 consecutive regular-season appearances, a streak that began after he replaced Evan Fournier early last season. The promotion was a catalyst to the Knicks’ run to the fifth seed last season, as Grimes asserted himself as an important 3-and-D specialist.

But Grimes struggled mightily to start the season and blamed it on his diminished role, unloading his frustrations to the media after Tuesday’s loss to the Bucks. Among other reasons, Grimes said his rhythm and confidence were killed by Thibodeau pulling him out of games after a missed shot. On Friday, the third-year guard fell more in line with the company message. Sources said he was talked to by at least one staff member about the importance of not throwing his coach under the bus.

“Whatever Thibs needs me to do to help the team win,” Grimes said Friday. “He felt like that was the best thing, so I’m just doing whatever they need from me right now.”

Thibodeau was happy with the bench play Friday.

“Quentin played well,” Thibodeau said.

The starters were a different story. DiVincenzo scored just six points in 22 minutes and the Knicks were outscored by 21 points with him on the court.