Clutch D-White: Celtics star saves his best ball for the final frame originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It’s kind of crazy to think that just 18 months ago, Derrick White wasn’t a fourth-quarter staple for the Boston Celtics.
There was a rather maddening game in Utah in March 2023 where the Celtics blew a 19-point lead and White was not one of the seven Boston players who touched the ground in the fourth quarter that night. Mind you, Mike Muscala and Luke Kornet combined for 15 minutes of fourth-quarter playing time in this game.
In all honesty, the Celtics were getting shredded on the glass and size was a priority. But if only we knew then what is so obvious now: White is a late-game savant, a calming presence whenever the basketball waters get a little choppy.
The 30-year-old guard proved it again Sunday afternoon, not only scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter on 4 of 5 shooting, but also the Celtics strong-armed the Minnesota Timberwolves’ late chargebut also tracking down an errant head pass and calmly setting up Jaylen Brown’s game-winning 3-pointer with just over a minute to play.
The Celtics have been spoiled by guards who thrive in the final period over the past decade. Isaiah Thomas was the king of the Fourth. Marcus Smart was the prince of winning plays. Hell, even Kyrie Irving was a star in the fourth quarter before his Brooklyn-bound bad mood muddled his impact on the court.
Whites won’t always overwhelm you with results, but their effectiveness is extraordinary. This season, he’s shooting 53.7 percent from the floor overall in the fourth quarter, including 50 percent on 3-point attempts. This is by far his most effective quarter:
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