PHILADELPHIA — At his core, Boston Celtics guard Derrick White is a winning player. It might not have seemed like it for much of the Green Team's 108-100 win on Friday night, as he missed open shot after open shot against the rejuvenated Philadelphia 76ers. Yet, when it mattered most, he was there to swing the momentum of Game 3 in Boston's favor.
In the final 4 minutes of the fourth quarter, White grabbed 2 offensive rebounds that led to 5 total points for the Celtics. Scoring was difficult for both squads in Game 3, so it's not an exaggeration to say that those points were life-saving buckets. With the Sixers on a 5-0 run and Xfinity Mobile Arena rocking, White perfectly tracked a 3-point miss from Nikola Vucevic and tapped it out to his teammates.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown then ended up with the ball, turning the second-chance opportunity into a smooth jumper that brought Philly fans to a hush. The Celtics led 94-90 with 3:49 remaining, but the back-and-forth game was far from over.
Philly responded and made it a 103-100 contest following a pair of free throws from Sixers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. Vucevic again had a shot at silencing the Sixers, however, his 3-point try bounced off the rim with 36 seconds left in regulation. Once more, White was unaccounted for on the boards and he swooped in for a clutch offensive rebound. From there, Celtics star Jayson Tatum got the rock beyond the arc with the game in the balance — and he didn't miss.
"We need him," Tatum said after the clutch victory. "I could say it 100 times. We need him, we need him, we need him."
Jayson Tatum on Derrick White and how the Celtics will always look to him, regardless of his slump:“We need him. I could say it 100 times. We need him, we need him, we need him.” pic.twitter.com/puHU0tbvtK
On the surface, White's box score isn't pretty. He finished with 11 points while missing 9 of his 12 field goal attempts, had 2 turnovers, and posted a plus-minus rating of minus-6 (tied for a team-low). Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't care about any of that.
"(If) anybody ever doubts D-White, then they don't really care about winning," Mazzulla declared. "There's a competitive confidence there. There's a character piece there. He's not defined just by shotmaking."
Through 3 postseason games, White is shooting a dismal 20 percent from deep. He hasn't been much better from the field, failing to connect on 18 of his last 24 attempts in the last two contests. His current slump won't prevent Tatum from finding him on open looks, though.
"We've all been through it, where you're not hitting shots at the rate that you expect to or want to," Tatum described. "Sometimes you just don't make them. But D-White is an unreal basketball player that still just has his imprint on the game and makes plays on both ends of floor — timely plays. But, just never lose confidence in yourself. When he's open, we're going to pass it to him. We want him to be aggressive. Never turn down a shot."
Brown agreed, going as far as saying that White actually had a good game.
"His shot didn't fall as much as he would have liked, but he took some really good shots, and he made some big-time plays, and that's what it comes down to," Brown praised. "His experience — we trust Derek in those moments, and he usually always delivers. So as the playoffs get going, he's going to find his shot, he's going to — the water will find its level."
Joe Mazzulla on Derrick White’s big rebounds and him not being defined by his shotmaking:“Anybody who ever doubts D-White, they don’t really care about winning.” pic.twitter.com/hJxGDoZRYD
On the defensive side of the ball, where White typically shines, he had some trouble keeping up with speedy Sixers star Tyrese Maxey. He was not alone in that struggle, as Maxey recorded a game-high 31 points and created space with ease.
Mazzulla never mentioned that during his postgame press conference, instead honing in on how White is effective on defense in other ways and, of course, celebrating his huge offensive rebounds down the stretch.
"Heading into Game 1 he defended 54 pick-and-rolls, which is the most on the team," Mazzulla stated. "And he has to be able to do that for us to win. Those two rebounds were big-time rebounds, and he can impact winning in so many different ways. So I'm always going to double down on his competitive character, who he is."
Regardless of White's slump, the Celtics believe they have him to thank for currently being up 2-1 in their first-round playoff series ahead of Game 4 on Sunday night.
"He's had some some great second contests, some blocked shots, and then those rebounds at the end of the game, just winning plays," Brown said. "They add up."
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown have nothing but good things to say about Derrick White after Game 3 win