NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT VS. CELTICS

May 27, 2023

Derrick White

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Celtics 104, Heat 103

Q. Derrick, walk us through that final put-back there. What did you see in that final play?

DERRICK WHITE: I mean, I was passing it in. Vincent was on me, and he kind of was up top denying JT, so I couldn't get him the ball, and they did a good job of denying JB, too and Smart flashed, hit him, and there really was nobody on me, so I just spaced to the corner, and when he shot it just tried to crash. Ball came to me, I made the shot. That's what I saw.

Q. Did you know it was good when you put it back?

DERRICK WHITE: It felt good. Everybody was asking me, did you get it off, and I was like, yeah, I think so, but it was so close, you never know.

Q. What was that swing of emotions like for you? You guys are up 10 with four minutes left, looked like it was slipping away. For you individually, just to save the season on that front, what did that feel like?

DERRICK WHITE: We're just happy we won. However we got to get it done, we got it done, and now it's on to Game 7.

Q. Along those lines, you guys went 7 for 35 from three today, obviously got a bunch of decent looks and couldn't make them. Over the course of the year those tend to be the games you guys have let slip away. What was different about today?

DERRICK WHITE: We stick together. Obviously JB and JT were special, and Smart, but we just stick together. Keep getting good looks, keep moving the ball, and defensively I think we were really good, too.

Obviously, there's a lot we can improve on, and we're going to need to be better for Game 7.

Q. Derrick, how are you guys doing this? Won three straight, only four teams have ever come back to force a Game 7. What's been the key to the turnaround?

DERRICK WHITE: One game at a time, sticking together. The same things we've been saying this whole time. We've got a great locker room, and we're just taking it one game at a time.

Q. Looked like you got emotional out there on the court. What does this moment mean for you, to save the season and an elimination game on the road, to have everything on the ropes, kind of a disaster right before that happened. What does it mean to you, that moment?

DERRICK WHITE: I was just happy. I mean, like you said, season was on the line. We don't want to go home, and so I was just happy we got the win.

Q. Joe just said that you guys chose to believe in each other when your backs were against the wall after Game 3. How crucial was it for you guys to get together, kind of reaffirm your bond as friends and teammates before even worrying about the basketball stuff?

DERRICK WHITE: I mean, if you've been around us the whole season, you know how close this locker room is. You see how we're always joking around. Everybody is getting along.

When times are tough, it's easy to kind of point the fingers, per se, but we just stuck together, cared for each other, and we've got one more game to go.

Q. When you saw Smart wasn't going to hit you, you darted for the rim. That seems like something you're taught in youth ball, attack, go for the board. What was going through your mind when you just kind of made like an L move? And then secondly, you're a guy that doesn't like a lot of publicity or a man of few words. What's it like to be on the podium, the walk-off interview, the center of attention? How do you deal with that over the next 48 hours and probably all the text messages you'll have when you look at your phone?

DERRICK WHITE: Yeah, I mean, it don't do no good to stand in the corner there, whether he makes it or not, so I just was crashing the glass, and it came right to me.

Yeah, it's going to be a little crazy. My phone is already blowing up.

Get home tomorrow, play with Hendrix. I'm sure he won't look at me any differently, so that'll be really cool.

Q. You had a huge game before that, some big threes and an outstanding job defending Jimmy Butler. What was your mentality, and how were you able to come in here and win this game, will this game?

DERRICK WHITE: Whatever it takes. It doesn't matter whether you score 11 or 20 or 0. If we win, I'm happy. That's my mindset, just whatever it takes.

Q. Just kind of piggy-backing off that, Jimmy was 0 of 6 when you were on him. What was the approach there in order to try to lock him down, and how were you able to do it?

DERRICK WHITE: He's a great player. He made some big shots, especially down the stretch there. I just tried to make it difficult for him, tried to keep him off the foul line. He's going to make tough shots. He's going to get to where he wants to. You just try to make it tough on him.

Q. Obviously that was an emotional end leading up to that, they make a comeback, they take the lead. Can you bring us inside that last huddle a little bit, what guys were saying, what the mood was? Joe was saying how you guys always talk about everybody crash. Did that come up in that moment?

DERRICK WHITE: No, at least I didn't hear anybody say "everybody crash," but we've talked about it almost the whole year. Everybody is just like, "make a play." That's all it was right there, "make a play."

Q. How were you guys able to keep your poise?

DERRICK WHITE: I don't know if poise is a great word to use with that last four minutes, but we found a way to win.

Q. Derrick, I think your dad said this is your first game winner ever. Are there any moments from your career that compare to this?

DERRICK WHITE: First game winner ever? I had to have something special in college or something. I'm going to check my dad on that one.

But this is special. This is the Playoffs. Game 6, backs against the wall. This is definitely special.

Q. You mentioned it there a little bit, but it's not the first time you guys have had a stretch like that late in the game like that. What do you think is the thing that is going through your -- what happens to you guys in those stretches where you do tend to sort of get a little static on offense and things start to go sideways?

DERRICK WHITE: I mean, I think we got some good looks. We just didn't make them. So just keep continuing to trust that, make the right play. Just continuing to trust each other. We continue to get those looks, we have confidence we'll knock them down.