The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers delivered another cinematic slugfest on Tuesday. The winner of their first two tilts this season emerged with a one-point victory. In Round 3 of this rivalry clash, it again came down to one basket and the final buzzer.
The Sixers emerged with a 102-100 triumph, courtesy of a game-winning put-back by Kelly Oubre Jr. in the final 10 seconds. It was the latest example of a self-inflicted mistake, of which there were again multiple on Tuesday, undermining Boston in crunch time. The Celtics are now 2-5 in matchups meeting the NBA's definition of clutch, meaning they are within five points in the final five minutes.
"Maxey was driving, he turned his back, I thought I could go make a play," explained Jaylen Brown, taking accountability for what happened post-game. "I thought that if I could go make a play, there wouldn't be enough time for them to get a shot off," he continued. "Oubre, I guess, slipped behind me for an easy offensive rebound. I got caught ball-watching. I've got to get in there and get in the fight."
While the loss stings, and it's frustrating to have another close contest not go their way, there was a rather meaningful silver lining. There were multiple encouraging takeaways, to be fair. That includes another impressive performance by Jordan Walsh.
However, this one pertains to a core member of the team.
Derrick White finds his rhythm
The Celtics' guard started Tuesday's tilt 0/5 from behind the arc. It felt like he couldn't buy a bucket. He entered the evening shooting 27.1 percent from behind the arc on 8.7 attempts. The first half was a continuation of that.
After the loss, White bristled at the idea that his three-point struggles stem from the difference in the looks he's getting now compared to when he could work off of Jayson Tatum.
"I think it's a little different, but I don't know if it's the craziest difference ever," voiced the eight-year veteran. "I think I'm still getting a lot of shots that I got last year. It's obviously a little different just based on who's here, but I don't think it's too crazy."
What's most encouraging is seeing how he recaptured his groove from behind the arc in the second half. It began with him swishing a pull-up three from above the break early in the third frame. After the ball splashed through the net, White looked over at Boston's bench. He made multiple gestures that translate to how it seemed like a revelation to see the ball finally go in.
That was just the start of his hot shooting. The six-foot-four guard buried four of the six threes he hoisted after halftime. That includes a crunch-time three from 27 feet. It was a shot that pulled the visitors within one, 100-99, with 1:53 remaining.
While the misses piling up made it easy to lose sight of White's all-around impact, hopefully, the second half on Tuesday was the genesis of him getting back to being the reliable three-point shooter who has knocked down nearly 38 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc since first donning a Celtics uniform.
If that proves to be the case, a Boston team that has played stingy defense despite not shooting well could be in for a significant turnaround.