Donte DiVincenzo continued his stellar recent play on Wednesday, spearheading the extremely short-handed Golden State Warriors' comeback win over the Utah Jazz with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, plus 5-of-9 shooting from deep. His performance marked the third time in his last five appearances that DiVincenzo has connected on five three-pointers, an extremely welcome development for a player who always makes his presence felt whether or not his shot is falling.

Golden State has won its last four games with DiVincenzo in the lineup, helping stanch bleeding from the ongoing absences of Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins. He's stuffing the stat sheet with 12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game on scorching 48.7% long-range shooting while moonlighting as a starter since Curry went down, consistently making the winning plays on both sides of the ball the Warriors envisioned after signing DiVincenzo for the taxpayer's mid-level exception in July.

Maybe no one on the team has benefited from DiVincenzo's addition more than Jordan Poole, who's playmaking responsibilities have been lightened since Steve Kerr made DiVincenzo a regular part of Golden State's second unit.

“Donte is an amazing part of our team,” Jordan Poole told Marcus Thompson of The Athletic after the win over Utah “Just being able to play on the court with him — to share minutes with him and just trust that he is going to make the right play, that he is going to be aggressive, that he is going to make big shots and make big plays and make big stops — is huge. He is a really big part of why we won these last couple of games, and he is going to be really big for us all season.”

The Warriors probably weren't beating the surging New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets to end a recent six-game road trip even if DiVincenzo was available. They lost those games by 30-plus points, out-classed without Curry and Wiggins and reeling physically from the rigors of an arduous, extended road trip.

But it's also no coincidence that Golden State has won three games in a row since DiVincenzo returned from illness, stabilizing the backcourt on both ends of the floor despite the Warriors still missing multiple starters.

“A prototypical experienced college player turned pro that’s been around winning and knows how to win,” Curry said of DiVincenzo, per The Athletic. “He’s committed to always impacting the game whether it’s rebounding, defending, scoring. He’s got an opportunity here to lead and cement himself as a guy every team should want on their roster just because he can plug a lot of holes and do a lot of different things. He’s given us a lot of, just, presence. He can play with pretty much any lineup.”

Replacing Gary Payton II was always going to be tough for Golden State. While DiVincenzo hasn't quite filled Young Glove's unique shoes, he's carved out a similarly significant role with the defending champs regardless, making a difference as a secondary playmaker, opportunistic three-point shooter, canny half-court cutter and dogged defender and rebounder.

Expect DiVincenzo to continue making that varied impact for the Warriors in 2022-23 even if his hot hand goes cold. He's a near-perfect fit behind Curry and Poole in the backcourt, the type of versatile, complementary guard who helps afford Golden State the lineup and stylistic flexibility that's long driven this team's postseason success.