|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
While his teammates celebrated on Monday night, Derrick White remained quiet at midcourt.
Long before Jaylen Brown accepted the MVP award for the Eastern Conference finals, he witnessed Jayson Tatum toss the ball far into the air, Al Horford sprint toward the coaching staff, and him searching for his son. Joe Mazzulla, the coach, even enjoyed the moment with his spouse.
White, on the other hand, was eager to resume his play following his game-winning 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining, which gave the Boston Celtics a 105-102 victory and guaranteed them a trip to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years after they defeated the Indiana Pacers 4-0.
Fantastic shot. We practice two-on-one reads all the time,” Brown stated following his 29 points, six rebounds, and crucial block on a jumper with 65 seconds remaining to maintain the advantage. “That was a big shot, a big shot to send us to the finals,” I told D White immediately before that.
Before completing the game-winning shot from the corner, White only managed to score 16 points and make 1 of his 8 3-pointers. He appeared to have been overshadowed by Brown, Tatum (who finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists), Jrue Holiday, and even Horford (who is 37 years old) up until that time.
However, White’s composed shooting proved to be the difference when the Celtics needed a basket to attempt to win their 18th NBA championship in franchise history. The shot will live on in Boston forever. The Celtics will now play in Game 4 of their Tuesday meeting between Dallas and Minnesota.
In the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, the Mavericks are up 3-0.
“We have answers for anything thrown at us, we feel comfortable and confident in any kind of game,” White remarked. “We just need to identify the appropriate ones.”
One year ago today, the Boston Celtics defeated Miami in the conference finals, tying the series when White’s tip-in saved them from a 3-0 hole. However, the team lost Game 7 at home. They are 6-0 on the road, 3-0 in elimination games, and have won seven straight playoff games this year.
