After struggling through the beginning of the month losing three straight games off blown double-digit leads and losing four out of five, the Boston Celtics pulled off a convincing 115-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at TD Garden. At halftime, the Celtics had amassed a 60-45 lead and they didn’t just sustain it — they built on it. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Celtics were able to get their starters some rest as the bench closed the game out.
It’s kind of human nature,” said Derrick White on the Celtics slowing down in games after building leads. “You want to do it every time when you’re up 20, make it 30. But even when you’re down 20, it just takes one play, you make a run off of that. It’s a game of runs… Just keep making the right play.”
In a much-needed get-right game, Derrick White was Boston’s second-leading scorer behind Jayson Tatum, scoring 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, 5 rebounds, and a team-high 7 assists in almost 36 minutes of floor time. He led the Celtics in minutes against the Trail Blazers, and was vital in the team’s win.
When asked about his perspective on not playing down the stretch late in close games, White remained humble and unbothered. “I’m playing basketball. I’m blessed,” said White with a smile. “I’m not really trying to just have the right perspective on things, but just understand it’s a team game. There’ll be times where I need to close, there’s gonna be times when Malcolm (Brogdon) and (Marcus) Smart (will need to close). It’s hard to take them out of the game as well. So anytime I’m out there, I just try to do things to help us win games, and even if I’m off the court, just be a good teammate and trust that the people out there are gonna help us win.”
On the whole, Derrick White has been one of the most important Celtics this season, and has arguably been Boston’s best guard out of their three-headed monster of a backcourt. Both Smart and Brodgon have dealt with injuries, whereas White has been Boston’s true iron man playing in all 67 games; he didn’t even miss a game after his scary neck injury suffered against Charlotte.
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