A humble Derrick White turned the attention to his coach and teammates after his career night in the Boston Celtics' Game 4 win over the Miami Heat.
White dropped a career-high 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range, to lead the Celtics to a 102-88 victory. He made one fewer 3 than the entire Heat roster combined and matched Miami with three blocks.
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It marked another signature playoff performance for White in South Beach. In last year's Eastern Conference Finals, he forced a Game 7 with a clutch tip-in at the buzzer of Game 6.
Time and time again, White has stepped up when his team has needed him most. Monday was another one of those times with stars Jayson Tatum (20 points, 5-14 FG) and Jaylen Brown (17 points, 7-18 FG) struggling, plus Kristaps Porzingis out with a calf injury.
After the game, though, White heaped praise on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla and his teammates for giving him the confidence to come through in big moments.
"It starts with Joe," White said. "Ever since he took over, he's just given me the most confidence. I can talk to him, he can talk to me and just our relationship is just getting better and better each day. It's amazing to play for him and I love it.
"And then obviously, the teammates. We've got such great players on the team but they allow me to do what I do and believe in me, and I think that's big."
White was recently voted the most underrated player in the league by his NBA peers. The All-Defensive guard is often overlooked on a stacked Celtics roster that includes Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday, but he has carved out a critical role for Boston on both ends of the floor. If the C's finally bring home Banner 18, he'll be among the biggest reasons why.
The quest for a title continues on Wednesday as the C's will look to close out their first-round series vs. Miami on their home floor. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine on the call for NBC Sports Boston. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.
