Derrick White’s 38-point performance lifted the Boston Celtics to a 102-88 Game 4 victory and 3-1 series advantage over the Miami Heat.
The Heat have enjoyed many memorable moments since introducing their “White Hot” campaign for the 2006 playoffs.
Derrick White’s performance in Game 4 of the first round is one Miami would rather forget.
The Celtics guard was the uncontested hero of the first frame, and ultimately, the 102-88 victory. He finished with 38 points, eight threes, and three blocks. According to StatMuse, he’s the first player in Celtics history to reach those numbers in a playoff game.
White. Hot.
The first quarter was a different kind of battle than that of Game 3, which Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla described the first frame as a “rock fight.” After Jrue Holiday got Boston on the board with a pair of free throws – Bam Adebayo began the game by immediately fouling him – the Heat took their first home-court lead of the series on a three-pointer by Nikola Jovic.
Their only lead, as it turned out.
White was the exception when the Celtics offense was MIA in Miami during the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis’ only four points in the frame were via free throws, as were Jayson Tatum’s first two, which came in just under the two-minute mark.
“Can we be the tougher, harder-playing team,” challenged Jayson Tatum after Game 3. “Can we start off every game essentially punching first and not reacting?”
White punched first and kept punching. He’d finished Game 3 with 16 points in 30:53 of play, a total he matched in his first 8:50 on Monday. He was 6-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from deep in the first. When the Heat called for a timeout with just under five minutes left, 13 of Boston’s 23 points belonged to the guard. White, who’d finished Game 3 with 16 points in 30:53 of play, matched that total within 8:50 on Monday evening. When Mazzulla called for a timeout with 2:20 left in the quarter, no other Celtic had contributed more than five points to the 29-18 score, and that remained the case when they ended the frame leading 34-24.
