Over the past few years, the Boston Celtics have been one of the NBA’s elite teams thanks to their star tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Their supporting cast has been suspect over the last couple of years, but in their Game 2 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, one of Boston’s supporting players stepped into the limelight in a big way.
Guard Derrick White shot 11-of-16 and went for 26 points to power his team to a 119-106 win and a 2-0 series lead, and he even got some MVP chants while shooting free throws at one point.
"You hear those MVP chants when you were at the line?"
"That's JT that ain't me"
"It was you tonight Derrick!"@tvabby caught up with Derick White after the Celtics took care of business in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/vcETUPVHn1
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 19, 2023
The Celtics acquired White midway through last season as part of a series of acquisitions that helped take them from a .500 team to a championship contender.
After struggling last season in Boston, he has put up an impressive campaign this year, averaging 12.4 points a game while shooting 46.2 percent overall and 38.1 percent from 3-point range in the regular season while becoming a fixture in their starting lineup.
White also came up big in Game 1 with 24 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
His defense has also been a key for the Celtics — he blocked two shots in Game 1 and had three rejections on Tuesday.
Tatum led Boston in scoring with 29 points while Brown added 18 points.
The series will move to Atlanta for Game 3, and there seems to be a good chance the Celtics will record a sweep.
But they will be in for a stiff test if they make it to the next round, as they would likely face the Philadelphia 76ers and likely MVP Joel Embiid there.
NEXT: Jaylen Brown Is Honoring A Celtics Legend In Tonight's Game