Derrick White found range early, setting the stage for game-high 34 points in Celtics’ Game 5 win
“It felt good. We got really good looks, especially to start the game.”
More with the Celtics
For the second game in a row, Derrick White had the hot hand in the first quarter.
He drained his first four 3-point attempts, setting the stage for a 34-point performance that lifted the Celtics to a 127-102 Game 5 victory over the Knicks at TD Garden Wednesday night.
“It felt good. We got really good looks, especially to start the game,” White said. “It’s always nice to get those good looks and shoot it with confidence. Shoutout to my teammates for finding me and just got to rise up there and knock them down.”
Jaylen Brown, who dished out a game-high 12 assists, found White wide open in the corner for his first three of the game. Al Horford handed the ball off to White and set a screen, freeing up White for another triple. Brown drove into the lane, planted his feet, and spun around to find White trailing the play at the top of the key open again for another three. Then, White pulled up a couple feet off of the TD Garden logo and nailed a contested three with Josh Hart’s hand in his face.
White got off to a similar start in the Game 4 loss at Madison Square Garden, knocking down his first four attempts from beyond the arc Monday night. He went 6 for 11 from deep in that game and finished with 23 points, but the performance was overshadowed by the shock of Jayson Tatum’s season-ending Achilles’ injury.
The Celtics may be without their leader, but they aren’t ready to give up just yet, White said.
“We’ve got a lot of people that are highly competitive and we have a lot of talent in that locker room,” White said. “Seeing our brother go down was tough. He texted us before the game today that he was cheering us on. That was cool to hear.”
White and Tatum sometimes coordinate with each other in interesting ways, such as wearing each other’s accessories and occasionally doing press conferences together.
White said he reached out to Tatum via text with words of encouragement.
“That’s kind of all I could do really, is to text him and tell him that we believe in him and he’s going to have a great comeback from this setback,” White said. “There’s not much I can do, especially at this moment, but I’ll support him throughout this journey and he’s going to do everything he can do to get back out there.”
Big switch
Kristaps Porzingis missed all three of his field goal attempts, scoring his lone point in 12 minutes on a free throw. He grabbed one rebound, blocked one shot, and committed two turnovers.
The 7-foot-2-inch center has looked like a shell of himself during this series as he continues to deal with symptoms of a viral illness that caused him to miss several games in March. He is averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game in these conference semifinals.
Porzingis sat during the entire second half. Luke Kornet played 26 minutes, his highest total of this postseason.
“He couldn’t breathe, so he was available if absolutely necessary,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “That was just a decision between me and him. He was having difficulty breathing, but he wanted to be out there. If we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him.”
“But, you’ve seen a lot of that this year, changing the lineup at halftime is something we’ve done a lot this year because it just adds a different dimension and you can change up sub patterns throughout the game. It’s a credit to the guys for buying into what gives us the best chance to win each and every night and KP will be ready for us.”
Kornet made all five of his field goal attempts, totaling 10 points, and grabbed nine rebounds. His seven blocked shots were three more than the Knicks had as a team.
Hauser returns
Sam Hauser returned to action after missing three games with a sprained ankle. He knocked down 2 of 5 3-point attempts, putting him on the board for the first time this series.
Mazzulla said he appreciated having Hauser back in the fold. He helps space the floor when he’s out there, and he found little ways to impact the game beyond his shooting.
“It was great. Another layer of a different level of offensive pace,” Mazzulla said. “I think he had some good defensive stops. Just getting another guy out there that can move, screen, cut, facilitate, create two-on-ones in different ways. I thought he gave us some good stuff.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com