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Derrick White Discussed What Changed in the Celtics Unlikely Comeback on the Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were so close to ending their 27-game losing streak up 21 on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, but the Pistons fell 128-122 in overtime. The boos rained down from the fans at halftime with the Pistons up 19, with Boston being the least imaginable place of Detroit's everlasting losing streak coming to an end.
Cade Cunningham and Detroit were getting downhill and doing whatever they wanted with easy baskets at the rim in the first half, while the Celtics looked lost offensively and could not get any shots to fall. Jayson Tatum was leading the charge most of the way with 31 points, 10 assists, five steals, and seven rebounds, but shot a tough 11-31.
In the second half, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White took over, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime. Boston went to them offensively, and they executed with clutch play after clutch play, hitting the game's biggest shots for the Celtics.
White talked about what changed for the Celtics following their pitiful first half.
"Yeah, I don't know; I felt like I was just slipping a lot," White said. "It's like, alright, you might as well try something else. That was a horrible first half, so just had to try something else and start playing a little better."
The All-Star-caliber guard continued to talk about Boston's dreadful first two quarters.
"Anything that could go wrong was going wrong for me there; it was just a rough first half," White said. "Just take that 15 minutes to kind of reset again and get back after it."
White talked about how Joe Mazzulla stated that the team had to throw away that first half.
"We made the adjustment; I mean, we knew what they were doing," he said. "They were just beating us to all the 50-50 balls and offensive rebounds; we just got to be tougher. came out that third quarter, made it a game, and just found a way to win."
People thought maybe the Celtics would roll over or take Detroit lightly and be tired after their trip out West against the level of desperation the Pistons have been playing with. Also, knowing they typically play Boston well. It showed in the difference in effort level as Detroit doubled the Celtics on the offensive glass.
"We talked about it, and you think about it, they got a lot of guys that have done a lot of good things in this league, and you look at their record, you might want to relax a little bit, but they still got guys that can compete and compete at a high level," White said. "You kind of just assume that we're gonna win and we get one shot and we're up 16 or something like that. That's just not the case, we kind of just settle down. First game back from the road trip is always the most difficult for whatever reason. It's nice to struggle and still get a win."
The Celtics will stay home and host the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at TD Garden.
Further Reading
Joe Mazzulla Praises Jayson Tatum's Ability to Empower Teammates
Jrue Holiday's Assertiveness Elevating Celtics' Offense
Celtics' Offensive Approach Outweighs Three-Point Struggles in Christmas Victory vs. Lakers
Joe Mazzulla Says Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis Are ‘Willing To Wear Many Different Hats'
Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics' Offense: 'Balance of Pace and Execution'
Jayson Tatum Joins PR Team for Derrick White’s All-Star Campaign
Jaylen Brown Shares His View of What Defines 'Celtics Basketball'
An Empowered Jaylen Brown Strives to Balance Scoring with Playmaking: 'I've Grown A Lot'
Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics' Second Unit is 'Starting to Develop an Identity'
