This is called being decisive. PJ Washington drove to the basket to put the Mavericks within one possession of the Celtics with 55 seconds left in the game, but it was without counting on Derrick White. The Boston back came from far away to counter the dunk on the counterattack!
Derrick White flew to counter PJ Washington and maintain the Celtics' 5-point lead. A lead that his teammates would later strengthen to seal the 105-98 victory in Game 2.
“I just sprinted to get back on defense and be involved in the action,” he says. “Obviously they were making a run, I had to do what was necessary, run on defense and go up on the block. »
On the other hand, this counter is not really to the taste of Jason Kidd, for whom Jaylen Brown's stroller behind PJ Washington's back or Derrick White's hand touching that of his player could have been worth a foul. “It looked like a foul,” believes the coach. “But it wasn’t whistled so it’s not a foul. »
A complete match
Well beyond this action, Derrick White was valuable, despite his clumsiness. The leader/guard finished the match with 18 points on 6/15 shots, and 4/10 from distance, he accumulated 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 interceptions and 2 blocks. He was notably the Celtics' best scorer in the fourth quarter, with 8 points at 2/3 from 3-point range…
Derrick White had already made a counter on a double-step from Kyrie Irving at the start of the game. But his appetite for countering his opponents, and going for it no matter what it costs, also earned him a spot on posters, like against Derek Lively II in the middle of the third quarter.
“I'm not afraid of getting dunked on it, it allows me to get counterattacks that other people might not have had”he judges. “So I'm just trying to play, I'm just believing in what I can do. »
This counter on PJ Washington crowns the very important last five minutes of Derrick White in Game 2 of the 2024 Finals. A little earlier, he had intercepted a hazardous pass from Luka Doncic, then he distinguished himself with a 3 -important points, forcing Jason Kidd to take a time-out.
