White snaps out of slump, Tatum goes into star mode to lift Celtics to comeback win

BOSTON -- For much of Monday night's tilt against the Pelicans, it looked like the Celtics were heading for back-to-back home losses for the first time this season. It would have been just the second time all year that the Celtics had lost two straight.

But Jayson Tatum and Derrick White weren't going to let that happen.

Tatum and White both caught fire in the fourth quarter Monday night, leading Boston to a 118-112 comeback win over New Orleans. After an embarrassing home loss to the L.A. Clippers on Saturday, Monday's win restored some order inside TD Garden.

But boy was it a slog. The Celtics trailed by as many as 14 points in a sloppy first quarter, and then by as many as 17 midway through the second. Boston managed to cut that hole to 10 by halftime, and it was was down to six heading into the fourth quarter.

Jrue Holiday led the charge in the third frame, scoring 12 points. With two assists, Holiday had a hand in six of Boston's 10 makes from the floor. He finished with 20 points for the sixth times this season, with four of those games coming in January. 

Jaylen Brown added eight points of his own in the third, and flirted with a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. He also did not turn the ball over once.

But after chipping away in the third, the Celtics let the Pelicans push their lead back up to 11 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Instead of folding, Tatum and White got going in a big way.

Tatum scored five quick points off a three and a driving bucket. He found Sam Hauser for a three a few minutes later to make it a five-point game, 94-89.

That's when it was White's turn to snap out of his shooting slump and regain his form. After hitting just one of his eight shots over the first three frames, White sank an eight-footer with 7:08 left to make it a three-point game. He drilled a three 40 seconds later to tie the game at 94-94, which opened the floodgates for White and the Celtics.

After seeing that three go through the hoop, White lifted his arms in relief. His confidence was back, and the Pelicans were in serious trouble. 

"Obviously, it has been a little bit of a struggle. Everybody was telling me to stay confident and keep shooting," he said after the game. "They kept trusting me and it was good to reward that trust. After that I was just trying to keep making shots, stay in the moment and try to help us win any way we could."

White went on to drop 13 points in the fourth, hitting two more threes while going 5-for-6 overall in the frame. His triple with 5:05 left gave Boston a 99-98 lead, and the Celtics never trailed from that point.

It was all part of an incredible 33-11 run by the Celtics over the final 10 minutes. That run turned an 11-point deficit into an 11-point lead for Boston.

Tatum had a hand in that too, scoring 14 points in the fourth to finish with a game-high 28 to go with 10 rebounds and eight assists. He hit only one three in the final quarter (assisted by White) but made the Pelicans pay by attacking the rim. Three of his makes came in the paint, and Tatum also got to the line six times in the fourth quarter, making five of his free throws.

"We had to play tougher, play with more pace, things like that. Basketball is a game of runs," Tatum said of the team's fourth-quarter explosion. "We just had to make some plays, and the crowd got into it and we kind of feed off of that."

The Celtics made their shots in the fourth, outscoring the Pels 37-25 while shooting 13-for-18 from the floor and 6-for-8 from 3-point land. They also made stops, holding New Orleans to 50 percent overall and just 2-for-10 from deep in the fourth.

With their backs against the wall, White and Tatum led the charge for Boston in a thrilling and exciting fourth quarter. With Monday's win, the Celtics are now 10-1 this season following a loss.