BOSTON — No player on the Celtics roster has been in as big of an offensive funk as Derrick White this season. That changed quickly in the second half of Boston’s win over the Pistons.
White erupted for 25 of his 27 points in the second half, hitting several crucial baskets in the closing minutes to help secure an upset 117-114 win over an East-leading Pistons squad.
“I felt good,” Derrick White said after the win. “It felt real good. It really just feels good to get the win, honestly. But it’s good to see some go in finally and just go from there.”
White entered the game shooting 35.3 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range, failing to look like a reliable No. 2 option next to Jaylen Brown for Boston’s offense. However, Joe Mazzulla’s confidence hasn’t changed in the veteran guard amid his ups and downs.
“Derrick, whenever he’s not playing well, I kind of get excited because I know when he comes out of it, the other side of it is so much better,” Mazzulla said. “That’s just the trust that I have in him as a player, and that’ll never waver.”
That faith paid off as White was a star on both ends of the court in the victory. With Boston playing small ball, White guarded everyone from Jalen Duren to Cade Cunningham on various possessions, including forcing a turnover against the All-Star on a possession that helped seal the game for Boston in the final minute.
Those sequences earned White high praise from Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff after the outing.
“I mean, again, \[he’s\] a champion for a reason,” Bickerstaff said. “And, you know, games like this, guys like that understand what they need to do to help their team win, and he did it.”
White’s play helped Boston put together its best win of the season and caused more hope for optimism amid a 10-8 start. The fact Boston has a top-6 offense amid White’s shooting woes has been a bright spot this year. His play against the Pistons was a reminder of why many considered the Celtics to be a playoff team even with Jayson Tatum sidelined this year.
“Derrick White made some big baskets for us, clutch, we just made plays,” Jaylen Brown said. “I thought that we made some excellent defensive plays too. We rebounded. I just thought we did every little thing that you need to see to win.”
The road gets tougher now for Boston, with five games looming over seven days beginning on Saturday in Minnesota. That challenge just got a little less daunting, though, if White is returning to form from Boston’s contending years.
“It just tells us any given night, we can play with anybody,” Brown said. “Detroit’s been playing great basketball and had a great win streak, but we were able to come out and we played at a high level and we got the W.”