Derrick White Silences Madison Square Garden with Clutch 3-Point Barrage to Crush Knicks’ Comeback Hopes!

 The New York Knicks were on the cusp of pulling off a wild comeback Sunday afternoon in Boston – until one of the league’s most lethal fourth-quarter shooters put them back in their place.

Karl-Anthony Towns hit a 3-pointer over Derrick White’s outstretched hand on New York’s first possession of the final frame, cutting what had been a 27-point deficit down to four. But White punched right back with consecutive 3-pointers to seize back the momentum and set the stage for a 118-105 Celtics win.

White made all three of his 3-point attempts during the fourth quarter, giving him 45 fourth-quarter threes on the season, good for fifth in the NBA. It brought his average up to 1.0 3-point makes per fourth quarter on the season, tying him for the second-most threes per fourth in the league behind Stephen Curry.

White probably wouldn’t be the first Celtic you’d guess to be a part of that list, but as Kristaps Porzingis pointed out after the game, “He’s just a silent killer.”

Boston’s “silent killer” quietly put up a near-triple-double against New York, logging 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range. And he is quietly in the midst of some of his best basketball of the season.

White has now scored at least 13 points in 11 straight games. During that monthlong stretch, he has averaged 17.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field, including 44.6 percent from deep.

Prior to that, White had gone through a nine-game cold spell where he produced five single-digit scoring efforts and shot just 32.6 percent from the field, including 23.9 percent from long range. He admitted during that stretch that he wasn’t experiencing the typical joy that basketball brings him. But he told himself to “knock it off,” and so he snapped right out of it.

“I think that’s just when I’m at my best is when I’m having fun and my energy is high,” White said. “Just trying to have that right energy, right mindset, and I think I’ve been better since then.”

A stretch like that is rare for White, who has been one of Boston’s most reliable contributors since joining the team in 2022. However, Joe Mazzulla noted how it’s only a natural part of White’s growth.

“I think as you become a better player, which he’s done since he’s gotten here and with the success that he’s had, the expectations rise, and when the expectations rise, it’s easy for the joy to be robbed,” Mazzulla said. “That’s just kind of the natural ebbs and flows of a career, and I think there are moments where you have to fight for that.”

White has fought his way free from those struggles, and Mazzulla is happy to see his point guard playing loose and with a smile on his face.

“When he’s at his best, he plays carefree, he makes big shots like he did today, and he just defends at a super high level,” Mazzulla said. “But you have to go through those (tough stretches). I’m glad he went through it. It was important for his growth. It was important for us to see him struggle because it shows how much we need him, and it was important for him to fight for that confidence because he’s one of the best point guards in the league. And when he plays like that, we’re a different team.”

There’s no question about that last point. The Celtics were 4-5 during White’s rough patch in January. In his 11 games since, they have gone 10-1, including five straight double-digit wins.