Boston’s formula held again as White anchored another gritty, playoff-style win over the Miami Heat.
For most of Friday night, this felt like the kind of game the Celtics have learned to lose quickly and move on from.
The shots weren’t falling.
The spacing was off.
The Heat dictated tempo, controlled the glass, and walked Boston into halftime with a 22-point deficit that felt even larger given how lifeless the first half looked.
Then Derrick White reminded everyone why this team keeps finding its way out of trouble.
White didn’t rescue the Celtics with a heater from three or a perfectly efficient stat line. He did it the way he almost always does: by staying steady, piling up winning plays, and quietly flipping the tone of the game until Miami no longer recognized what was happening.
Boston’s 98-96 comeback win over the Heat wasn’t clean, pretty, or comfortable - it was resilient. And it ran through White.
The box score tells part of the story.
White finished with 21 points, 5 assists, and 4 blocks, scoring 17 of those points after halftime.
The shooting numbers weren’t kind - 6 for 20 overall - but they also didn’t matter. What mattered was that when Boston finally woke up in the third quarter, White was the connective tissue that made everything work.
The Celtics were historically cold in the first half, opening the game 1 for 21 from three. Entire possessions died on the perimeter. Miami switched everything, crowded the paint, and dared Boston to adjust.
For a while, they couldn’t.
But once the Celtics found life - and once they started attacking gaps instead of settling - White was the player consistently making the correct read.
Boston’s third-quarter avalanche didn’t come from one player going nuclear. It came from balance.
White pushed the pace. He attacked closeouts. He made Miami pay when they overcommitted to Jaylen Brown, who finished with 29 points despite an uneven night. He found Payton Pritchard, who continued his seamless transition back to a bench role with another explosive second half en route to 24 points. And defensively, White anchored the chaos, protecting the rim like a center and blowing up possessions with his timing.
That versatility has become the Celtics’ safety net all season.
With Jayson Tatum still sidelined, Boston has survived by leaning into adaptability - lineup flexibility, effort, and players who can scale their roles up or down without disrupting flow.
White is the embodiment of that identity.
One night he’s a scorer. Another he’s a facilitator. On nights like Friday, he’s the stabilizer when everything feels broken.
Nikola Vucevic’s debut added another layer.
The new big man posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, immediately flashing the offensive fit that made the trade so appealing. His presence helped settle Boston offensively in the second half, even if the defensive chemistry is still a work in progress. That’s expected.
What mattered Friday was that Boston finally had options - and White knew exactly how to use them.
This was the Celtics’ fifth straight win, but it felt heavier than that.
It was a reminder of how this group wins games it probably shouldn’t, how it survives ugly nights, and how it keeps stacking results while still learning itself. Derrick White didn’t save the Celtics with style points.
He saved them by being exactly who he’s been all season — the most reliable problem-solver on the floor.
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.