In classic Derrick fashion, he made all the right plays to help Boston secure the win.
After falling behind 2-0 in their second-round series against the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics had quite the response. They went in to Madison Square Garden to grab a dominant wire-to-wire victory with a final score of 115-93. Boston led by as many as 31 points, and didn’t let their lead get below 20 in the second-half, a very welcomed contrast to the previous two games in this series, both of which they blew 20-point leads in.
The Celtics put together their best offensive performance of the series by far in Game 3. Between the first two games, Boston was shooting 35.6% from the floor, 25.0% from three, and 83% from the line. They were much more efficient on Saturday, holding a 48.2 FG%, a 50.0 3P%, and an 88.2 FT%. Not only that, but the attack was very well balanced with five players scoring between 15 and 23 points with Payton Pritchard being the leading scorer for the Cs.
While the full-team effort may have caused it to go under the radar, Derrick White had his fingerprints all over this game. He and Jaylen Brown tied for a team-high +29 plus/minus. In his 33.5 minutes, Derrick contributed 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, a fairly full stat-sheet.
The box-score doesn’t even show just how impactful each of these stats were in the moments. Of White’s five rebounds, three were offensive. Each one of those led to a basket, two of them being tip-ins by Derrick, and the last being an assist to Jaylen for an end-of-shot clock mid-range jumper. Each of the three boards and buckets were extremely timely, and helped to push the momentum in Boston’s favor.
Similarly, White’s one block on the night helped to shut down what could have been a rhythm-gaining layup from Jalen Brunson, a guy who can heat up quicker than most. Brunson had just gotten into the paint to get an and-one floater. On the next possession he beat Derrick to the basket off a quick cut while getting a pocket-pass from Josh Hart. It looked like Jalen was going to have an easy layup, but White closed the gap and sent the shot off the backboard.
We also all know just how big of a story the three-point shooting has been so far in this series. Derrick stepped up to lead the fans to a collective sigh of relief, going 3-3 from three to start the game. He finished the game 3-6, but the first few shots helped Boston jump out to and maintain their double-digit lead, providing them with some more breathing room later down the stretch. I think most fans would be willing to settle for 50% from three on the night anyways after what they’ve had to witness thus far.
As always, Derrick worked his magic on both ends of the floor, supplying all the support Boston needed to get the job done, and get it done right. His contributions may not end up being the story of the night, but they were incredibly vital, and the Celtics will continue to lean on him as their playoff-run lives on.