Donte DiVincenzo has been back at the Garden before, struggling with the Knicks’ bench and having to be separated from assistant coach Rick Brunson at the end of a preseason game in October.

But DiVincenzo and teammate Julius Randle will face the Knicks on Thursday night in Minnesota in a game that counts for the first time since they were dealt in the blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns just before the start of training camp.

“I’m still in constant contact with these guys. “It’s still a family,” DiVincenzo said Wednesday after the Timberwolves’ practice in Minnesota. “I watch games and everything, but it’s different, a different perspective if you will – more of a fan of the guys that are over there.

“Wish them nothing but success, individually and collectively.”

While Randle is averaging 20.1 points after returning from season-ending shoulder surgery, DiVincenzo has struggled to find his footing with the Timberwolves.

He’s averaging just 8.3 points in 25 games (two starts) and shooting 35.3 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from 3-point range after averaging .35 from long range in his only season with the Knicks Scored 40.1.

“Donte is a good player,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He was great with us. So it’s part of the game and you just play. At the end of the day, it’s what you do as a whole that matters.”

DiVincenzo said: “I think a) it’s not normal to make a trade the day before media day. It takes time for both sides to adapt. Great things take time. I believe that on our side, but also on their side. I think KAT is playing really well, but it will take some time for the other guys to get used to his performance.”

Josh Hart also said last week — and he and Jalen Brunson reiterated it Wednesday — that DiVincenzo and Randle were a big part of the Knicks’ identity last season.

They acknowledged that the current roster is still trying to establish its identity, despite a 16-10 start and Towns averaging 24.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.

“Like I said, it’s an adjustment,” DiVincenzo said. “KAT has been here for nine years? The guy was here for nine years. The same.

“When he leaves here there will be a hole, an emptiness of what he brought with him. Even though I was there for a year and Julius missed half the year, he was there for five years. When a man spends so much time in an organization, he’s around people, and you just get used to what you get every day. So when you come here, just try to be yourself.”

As for his argument with the elder Brunson and the Knicks bench in the preseason, DiVincenzo said the incident is behind them.

“Family conversations, family moves forward. That’s all,” said DiVincenzo – who was also teammates with Jalen Brunson, Hart and first-year Knick Mikal Bridges at Villanova. “I wish them – of course this situation, but every single person there – I wish uninterrupted individual success, collective success.”

“I want the same for everyone here. That’s all. Families talk and families move forward.”

Brunson agreed with his close friend, saying, “That guy I (DiVincenzo) call a little hothead, and he always has been. “But I mean, that’s my brother, and no matter what happens, that’s my family.”

— Additional reporting by Stefan Bondy