After facing elimination for a third straight game, the Boston Celtics were able to stay alive on Saturday night by holding off the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals to force a Game 7, which no one seemed to think was possible.
Game 6 came down to the wire at Kaseya Center in Miami, with the Heat seemingly having the game won in the final seconds due to three clutch free throws made by star forward Jimmy Butler.
With three seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter and Boston down by one, it took some late-game heroics by guard Derrick White for the Celtics to come out on top, with a putback as time expired.
White has been huge for the Celtics throughout these NBA playoffs and is becoming more and more of a dependable player in big moments for Boston, which led ESPN’s Baxter Holmes to dub him the most underrated player in the NBA.
.@Baxter writes about the savior of Game 6, Derrick White 💪
More on @ESPNPlus 🔗 https://t.co/7mHpvWFrbU pic.twitter.com/iw4q8dhXP6
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 28, 2023
As great players always tend to do, White has gotten better in the playoffs, increasing his per-game totals in a few different categories.
White is currently averaging 13.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51.2% from the floor and 47.5% from beyond the arc.
Although Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are arguably the heart and soul of this Celtics team, White’s role in Boston has proven to be incredibly important, and if he weren’t on the floor in those final moments in Game 6 against the Heat, this team’s season would already be over.
It’ll be interesting to see if White can continue to play a pivotal role for the Celtics moving forward and if Boston can make history on Monday night.
NEXT: Stats Show How Dominant Derrick White Has Been On Defense
