Derrick White's career night vs. Heat has Celtics on brink of advancing

BOSTON -- The Heat wanted a "White Out" at Kaseya Center for Monday night's Game 4 against the Boston Celtics. They probably should have thought that one through, because Celtics guard Derrick White took that to heart and put up a career evening for Boston.

The Celtics guard was -- sticking with the theme -- white hot throughout Boston's 102-88 victory, putting the Celtics ahead 3-1 in the opening-round series. White rarely missed as he scored a career-high 38 points, going 15-for-26 overall and 8-for-15 from three-point land.

How deadly was White from downtown? The Heat as a team hit just nine threes for the game. White went 4-for-5 from deep in the first quarter, dropping 16 points in the opening frame. Miami scored 24 points total in the first.

White had 22 points by halftime, having knocked down six of his nine three-point attempts. One of those threes came after a Tyler Herro pass bounced off White's head, leading to an easy look for the C's guard in transition.

Yeah, his head was really in this one, as that was one of three deflections from White on the night. What would have happened on that one if he still had his afro from last year? 

And when the three-ball escaped him briefly in the third quarter (White was only 1-for-4 from downtown in the frame), he attacked the hoop instead. Even Miami big man Bam Adebayo couldn't cool down White on Monday night, as there was nothing he could do to stop this two-handed jam.

White's night was overshadowed a bit by Kristaps Porzingis' calf injury, which has the Celtics and fans on edge Tuesday morning. If Porzingis misses a chunk of time, bigs like Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman will have to step up for Boston going forward. 

But White can pick up a chunk of the scoring slack, and really anything else the Celtics ask of him. He added four rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in his Monday night masterpiece. 

In doing so, White became just the third player in NBA playoff history to score least 35 points, hit eight three-pointers, and record three blocks in a game. Only Damian Lillard (2021) and Vince Carter (2001) can say they've done that. 

While his offensive outburst earned White endless praise, his defense was locked in as well. Heat players shot just 3-for-14 when defended by White, going 0-for-5 from downtown. He forced six of Miami's 13 turnovers on the evening.

White, as he always does, credited his teammates for getting him open looks and create space for him to do his thing.

"We have such great players on the team, and they allow me to do what I do. They believe in me and that's big," said White.

"Every game I kind of have the same mindset of just trying to be aggressive," he added. "Just read what the game is telling you, not forcing anything, and just do what I need to do. I got a couple of good looks early, and then the team did a great job of finding me and empowering me to stay aggressive."

White also said that it begins with head coach Joe Mazzulla and his endless support.

"It starts with Joe. Ever since he took over, he's been giving me the most confidence," White said of his head coach. "I can talk to him, he can talk to me, and the relationship gets better and better each day. It's amazing to play for him and I love it."

An empowered and confident White is a dangerous weapon for the Celtics. With Monday night's career game, White is now averaging 21.8 points while shooting a blistering 56.9 percent overall and 47.1 percent from three over the first four games against Miami. 

White and the Celtics can finish off the Heat on Wednesday night when the series returns to TD Garden for Game 5.