The Boston Celtics could’ve closed out the Eastern Conference Finals on their home court on Friday night, but the Miami Heat had other plans.
Derrick White carried the Celtics for stretches in Game 6
Although Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum played decently enough, it was Derrick White who kept Boston alive in this game. If it wasn’t for him, the Celtics wouldn’t have had a chance to take a late fourth quarter lead.
White finished second on the team with 22 points and five assists in 33 minutes off the bench. He also hit four 3’s, tying Tatum for the most on the team. White was excellent in Game 6.
An element that was nonexistent for Boston was 3-point shooting. The Celtics finished 11-33 from deep, eight of which came from Tatum and White combined.
The other three came from Al Horford (1-6), Marcus Smart (1-9), and Brown (1-3). Payton Pritchard attempted one but missed. It just wasn’t their night from deep, however, they still had a chance to win the game.
It’s fair to assume since White was exceptional in this game that it cut into Pritchard’s playing time, as he only saw four minutes on the court. Pritchard has been the spark plug guy for the C’s, but tonight it was White.
It seemed as if both teams were in foul trouble for the entire game. A game that featured 56 total free throws and three different players foul out of the game.
Robert Williams, Jayson Tatum, other interesting takeaways
It’s worth mentioning that Tatum only took one shot in the fourth quarter. He was having a great night driving to the basket and being aggressive. He needs to be taking more than one shot in the fourth quarter of a close out game.
I thought it was interesting that Robert Williams DID NOT play at all in the fourth quarter. There were a few moments during the game it looked like he was fighting through knee pain, but I didn’t think he would be unable to go in the fourth.
I don’t even really want to mention Grant Williams. He had a terrible game and didn’t try to make himself better at any point in the game.
It’s also the same old song and dance with the turnovers. Tatum and Brown combined for 11 of Boston’s 17 turnovers.
The Celtics, yet again, have to play with their backs against the wall. They seem to perform better in these situations. However, this is a do or die, season on the line, Game 7 on the road type of situation. It’s not going to be easy. They need to play their best game yet.
Game 7 of the ECF will be Sunday night at 8:30 in South Beach.
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Photo Credit: AP Photo, Lynne Sladky
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