DALLAS — Quentin Grimes didn’t feel any extra emotion before facing the Knicks on Wednesday.
The fourth-year guard is nearly 10 months removed from the trade-deadline deal that sent him from the Knicks to the Detroit Pistons last season.
“That happened last year and everything, so just good to see some familiar faces out there pregame,” Grimes, now a member of the Dallas Mavericks, told the Daily News before playing the Knicks at the American Airlines Center.
“I was there for three years, built some good relationships, so it’s good to see some guys you built some good chemistry with and did some good things on the court with.”
A first-round pick by the Knicks in 2021, Grimes averaged 8.6 points per game, made 37.9% of his 3-point attempts and regularly took on tough defensive assignments in his 162 games, including 90 starts, with New York.
But Grimes dealt with wrist and knee injuries last season and, after being replaced in the starting lineup by Donte DiVincenzo, was included in the February trade that sent Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks to the Knicks.
The Mavericks then acquired Grimes from Detroit in the offseason, hoping his 3-and-D profile would help elevate a roster that struggled from behind the arc in their NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics.
“I knew [the Mavericks] had their eye on me for a while, like last season, the trade deadline last year, so I’m glad they got the deal done to come and get me,” Grimes told the Daily News before Wednesday’s game in Dallas. “It felt great to be somewhere where they really wanted me, for sure.”
Grimes, who hails from Houston, has been a nice fit for Dallas thus far. He entered Wednesday averaging 6.0 points per game and 38.1% from 3-point range in 16 appearances, including four starts.
“He’s a true pro,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said Wednesday. “He understands the game at a higher level. His defensive side of the ball is one of the best that we’ve had, being to guard the ball, especially the pick and roll.
“And then on the offensive end, his ability to drive to get to the rim and then also being able to knock down a three. For him, being new in the system and playing with guys like Luka [Dončić] and [Kyrie Irving] just takes some time, and I think he’s done an incredible job here.”
Wednesday marked Grimes’ second time facing the Knicks, having also done so in February when the Pistons visited Madison Square Garden.
He got the start Wednesday, matching up defensively with Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who spent four seasons with the Mavericks, including one under Kidd.
Grimes said he spoke to Brunson about playing with Dallas after the trade.
“He said, ‘J-Kidd’s a player’s coach. You’re gonna fit in great. He lets you do your thing.’ He had told some people in the front office and logistics people about me already, so he definitely put it in a good word for me, and I definitely appreciated it,” Grimes said.
Grimes has enjoyed playing for Kidd thus far, just like he did playing for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
“He gave me a lot of my first, second and third year out there,” Grimes said of Thibodeau, “so I’ve got nothing but love for him.”
HIGH PRAISE
Kidd has been impressed by the Knicks’ pairing of Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns so far.
Towns, in his first season with the Knicks, entered Wednesday averaging 26.3 points per game, while Brunson was averaging 24.9 points and 7.9 assists, forming one of the NBA’s top inside-out duos.
“Brunson and KAT are the number one pick-and-roll combination in the league,” Kidd said.
LACKING LUKA
The Knicks did not have to deal with Dončić, who missed his fourth game in a row Wednesday with a strained right wrist.
Dončić has averaged 30.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists in his 11 career games against the Knicks.
The last time Dončić faced the Knicks in Dallas, he exploded for 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in 47 minutes in an overtime victory on Dec. 27, 2022.
The Mavericks were also without guard Klay Thompson (left foot plantar fascia), center Daniel Gafford (illness) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) on Wednesday.
