BOSTON — After the Celtics beat the Bucks, Derrick White sat in the locker room with ice packs on both knees and ice wrapped around his left shoulder.
The 32-year-old Celtics guard was coming off a season-high 24 points, plus 7 assists and 4 rebounds. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and 7 of the Celtics’ final 10 points, including an and-one runner that gave the Celtics a 5-point lead with just over two minutes to go.
They never looked back from there.
And, none of the late-game heroics were
a surprise to his teammates.
“D-White just has an unwavering confidence — he just has a way of just being even-keeled,” said Paul George, who led the Celtics in scoring with 25 on the night. “Obviously, he’s great down the stretch.”
This season, White is averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. For the second straight year, his shooting has slipped; he’s shooting 42.5% from the field and 31% from three.
Regardless, for the second consecutive home game, White got raucous MVP chants at the free-throw line from the TD Garden. Afterward, he chatted with Jayson Tatum in the locker room, who donned street clothes after his first rest game of the season.
The two shared a laugh as White got ready to take the podium after his season-best game. Payton Pritchard exited the game in the third quarter after suffering a right eye abrasian, leaving the Celtics without two of their primary scorers in the clutch-time game against the Bucks.
That meant White knew he had to make a concerted effort offensively down the stretch.
“Every game is a little different — different lineups, different matchups, and so just kind of go out there, read what the game tells you to do, and go out there and compete, try to get a win,” White said. “Obviously with JT out and then P going out too, had to [have] a little bit more aggressive mindset, and maybe next game is a little different. So, you just kind of go out there and have fun playing basketball.”
The Celtics led by as many as 22 points in the game, but saw that lead turn into a one-point deficit late in the fourth quarter after a monster third quarter by Tyler Herro and multiple stints of offensive woes.
As the momentum of the game turned against Boston, White remained calm.
“He’s a great defender, shot-blocker, rebounder at the guard spot — but again, with him, with Payton, like those guys just having kind of an even-keeled mentality, never get too high, never get too low, never really rattle,” George said. “And when you’re on the floor, you feel that you got a guy besides — he’s obviously been a champion. So, he’s tested. He’s battle-tested. But to have someone that never gets too high, it’s a level where I think when you’re on the floor, you feel that, and you know, anything you’re into, will get out of.”
