Tuesday night in Salt Lake City, the Boston Celtics avenged their loss to the Utah Jazz at TD Garden. The visitors earned a 129-119 victory. They are now 2-1 on their five-game road trip.
At the heart of that win stood Derrick White. The six-foot-four guard emphatically reinforced that he is the NBA's best shot-blocker at his position.
White swatted not one, not two, but seven of Utah's field goal attempts. That matches the record for the most in a game by a guard in league history, per StatMuse.
"Just trying to help us win anyway I can, and that was kind of a crazy one," said a smiling Derrick White during his postgame interview with Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston. "I don't know what to say."
The only other player to register seven rejections in a single contest this season is San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. The latter is a foot taller than White.
The dynamic nature of Derrick White's shot-blocking
The former Colorado Buffalo is operating as a roamer on defense this year. In that role, acting as a free safety, he is doing a masterful job of protecting the rim.
Tuesday, his blocks didn't just come from patrolling the back line of the defense. The ninth-year veteran swatted seven-foot-one Lauri Markkanen three times. That includes fighting over a screen to do so on a three-point attempt. He again demonstrated superb timing when he thwarted a floater from Markkanen right as the Jazz star brought the ball above his head.
"A couple of them came on-ball, a couple of them came off-ball," said Joe Mazzulla following the Celtics' victory, via Celtics Postgame Live on NBC Sports Boston. "And so, I think this year, his role has grown. Tonight, when we went with Derrick, Payton [Pritchard], Anfernee [Simons], and Jaylen [Brown], he has to guard the other team's best player, so he got a couple on pick-and-rolls on pull-up threes. In the beginning of the game, when he's roaming and on guys that we can shift off of, he does a good job of coming in and knowing when to help and [when] not [to]. So, just his defensive versatility, but obviously, he was great tonight."
Whether White was on or off the ball, he was a historic-making menace who turned the task of getting a shot up into a daunting challenge for the hosts.
"That's the stuff you can't teach," stated Simons after the win, via Celtics Postgame Live on NBC Sports Boston. "As much as you try to emulate what he does, you can't teach that stuff. And he's so gifted at having a nose for the ball and making the right play, defensive play. So, I mean, like I said, it's crazy to see. You see it from afar when you're not on the team, and then now you see it firsthand."
The dynamic manner in which White went about matching an NBA record perfectly captured what makes him one of the league's best defenders, regardless of position.