Derrick White kept the Boston Celtics’ improbable comeback bid alive in dramatic fashion Saturday night.
Facing elimination in Game 6, White put back a Marcus Smart miss at the buzzer to secure a 104-103 win at South Beach. After falling behind 3-0, the Celtics are sending the series back to TD Garden for Game 7.
White etched his name into the history books regardless of how the Eastern Conference Finals ends.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, White became the second NBA player ever to erase a deficit with a game-winning buzzer-beater as his team faced elimination. It last happened when Michael Jordan defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989 with a legendary basket simply known as “The Shot.”
Derrick White is the 2nd player in NBA history to make a game-winning buzzer-beater when facing elimination and his team trailed prior to the shot.
The other player to do this? Michael Jordan in 1989 vs the Cavaliers.
h/t @bball_ref pic.twitter.com/kQA6mJrOee
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 28, 2023
In one of the most iconic plays in NBA history, Jordan drove to his left and hesitated in the air before draining the bucket in a decisive Game 5 of the opening round. His jumping fist-pump celebration remains synonymous with the all-time great 34 years later.
White joins illustrious company by cleaning up the glass and shocking Heat fans at Kaseya Center. Jordan’s 1989 Chicago Bulls lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, so Boston’s unlikely hero can one-up His Airness and make more history by making the Celtics the first NBA team to ever overcome a 3-0 postseason hole.
Game 7 takes place Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.