Derrick White becomes 5th player in playoff history to drop at least 20 threes in 3 straight games

Boston started out their Eastern Conference semifinals with a victory against Cleveland, and are now 5-1 in the playoffs. The Celtics have credited Derrick White as one of their secret weapons during the postseason, as he’s been exceptional at shooting from beyond the arc. 

Just as he completed his third-consecutive performance having dropped at least 20 threes, he admitted he’s been in a rhythm. “I’d say so,” he said after Tuesday night’s 25-point display. “It feels good … I just want to help us win.”

He’s now only the fifth player in league history to ever achieve this stat in so many games, joining Damian Lillard (2021 and 2024), Jamal Murray (2020), Klay Thompson (2016) and Stephen Curry, who has achieved this three times already. 

All of Derrick White's seven 3-pointers from last night here.

He's now 20-for-37 from downtown over his last three games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vPJiF7rGd0

— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) May 8, 2024

White’s coach Joe Mazzulla explained just how crucial his efficiency has been for Boston’s overall offensive plays. “It’s important because it means, usually the shots he takes are because we’re either out in transition, we’ve set really good screens and he has that, or there’s 2-on-1s and we’re making extra passes,” he said.

“So I think when those guys get more and more shots, it means we’re getting to the different layers of our offense, which is important against a team like this,” Mazzulla added after their 120-95 triumph in Game 1 of the series. 

His outstanding exhibitions also reminded us that he wasn’t always as precise from the deep, as Derrick was removed from the Celtics’ lineup back when he had been struggling during their 2022 NBA Finals run. 

“Derrick White has grown,” said teammate Jaylen Brown. “He’s a new version that we haven’t seen before. He’s put the work in, his body has developed a little bit, he’s got some more playoff experience. And he’s being aggressive, and we urge him to do that more and more down the line.”

Donovan Mitchell’s 33-point display wasn’t enough to match the Celtics’ offensive prowess this Tuesday

Even though Boston only hit 6-for-22 from range in the first half, they later recovered in the latter stage of the game to pull away from Cleveland. As for the Cavaliers, they were heavily dependent on their main star Donovan Mitchell, who scored 33 points last night. 

Their coach J.B. Bickerstaff is well aware on how they need to do better.” There’s a lot of areas we can improve on,” he said. “I thought the guys came out with the right intent and the right effort. Facing a team like Boston, I think it’s good to be able to play them. 

“You’re not used to the speed, the spacing, the shooting and all those things until you get up against them especially coming from a series we just came from that was more of a half-court slugfest where they play with more tempo, more space. We’ll learn from it, and we’ll be better on Thursday.”

Now both teams will rest today as they prepare for Thursday’s Game 2 as they will repeat in Massachusetts at the TD Garden.