As the Cleveland Cavaliers cut Boston's 20-point lead to six late in the third quarter Tuesday in Cleveland, the Celtics needed their best late-game shot-maker to step up down the stretch.
And once again, Derrick White delivered.
The veteran guard scored 14 of Boston's 25 total points in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the final 12 minutes to help the Celtics earn a hard-fought 112-105 win over the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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If you follow the C's, you know that White has made plenty of clutch shots for Boston this season. But the extent of White's late-game prowess -- particularly from 3-point range -- is eye-opening.
After Tuesday's performance, White is now shooting 40.2 percent on fourth-quarter 3-pointers this season, with 41 makes on 102 attempts. Not only is White the Celtics' most prolific fourth-quarter deep shooter -- Payton Pritchard is second on the team with 37 3-pointers on 97 attempts, while Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have made just 28 fourth-quarter threes combined -- he also ranks among the NBA leaders in late-game 3s.
Consider this: White is one of just six NBA players to attempt 100 or more fourth-quarter 3-pointers this season, joining the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry and Trae Young. Among that group, only Mitchell has a better percentage.
White ranks fifth in the entire NBA in fourth-quarter 3-point makes and attempts this season.
That's impressive company for White to join, but his numbers get even better when the stakes are raised further.
In "clutch" situations this season -- score within five points in the final five minutes -- White is shooting a ridiculous 66.7 percent from 3-point range (12 for 18) and 70 percent overall (14 for 20). His 12 3-pointers in the clutch rank second in the NBA, trailing only Young (16 for 35).
White's late-game shooting stats are especially remarkable considering he endured a two-month shooting slump, making just 32.9 percent of his total 3-pointers over a 24-game span from early December to late January.
But even during that skid, White continued to take and make clutch 3-pointers, reinforcing his status as a go-to weapon for Boston late in games.
"That’s who he is," head coach Joe Mazzulla said of White after Tuesday's win. "The late-game shot-making, the ability to make plays -- that’s who he is for us, and we’ve got to continue to fight to make sure he keeps that belief and confidence."
White shares the floor in crunch time with two elite scorers in Tatum and Brown, who both garner plenty of attention from defenses. As a result, White consistently gets plenty of open looks late in games -- and he consistently makes teams pay.
"I think he's one of the most clutch players on our team, honestly," Kristaps Porzingis added of White. "I feel like he always hits big shots. ... He's a rhythm player, and once he once he gets in that kind of rhythm and starts hitting those pocket threes and making plays, he's very, very special."
