In the Celtics’ victory over the Pistons on Monday night at TD Garden, Derrick White recorded his first-career triple-double with 22 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists.
The hosts used a first unit on Monday with Derrick White and Payton Pritchard in the backcourt and Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet in the frontcourt due to the Celtics being without several starters.
After missing five games with a strained right hamstring, Porzingis returned and scored eight points in his opening possession, including two three-pointers, 12 seconds after the half. He pulled down five rebounds as well.
In the opening frame, Derrick White, who provided assistance on the seven-foot-three center’s baskets outside the arc, distributed five assists. Along with matching Jaden Ivey and Malachi Flynn for the most points in the first quarter with eight, he also converted on three of his six shots.
In the opening twelve minutes of play, eight players saw action for Boston as Joe Mazzulla managed his team’s shorthandedness despite Porzingis’ return and the second night of a back-to-back.
One of the hosts’ first substitutions of the game, Xavier Tillman, made an immediate impression on defense by stymieing drives from quicker players on the perimeter and showcasing his versatility in that regard. His ability to do this has aided in his defense system adaptation with the Celtics and will be especially helpful during the postseason.
The hosts established a double-digit lead thanks to their play, as they led 31–28 into the second quarter.
The hosts forced five turnovers and produced nine fast-break points in the first 24 minutes thanks to a combination of effective help defense, well-timed stunts, including multiple baskets by Svi Mykhailiuk, and Jaden Springer diving on the floor to recover a loose ball, grab an offensive rebound, and make up a missed three by Pritchard as the first half was coming to an end.
And when White made 5/10 threes and put 17 points on the board, every shot he took felt like it was going to go in, making it harder for the Pistons to stay ahead.
In the first half, the former Colorado Buffalo also dished out seven assists and pulled down the same number of rebounds.
Brown scored just as many points as White did, often forcing his way to the rim during transitions.
Although those two were the Celtics’ top scorers, Detroit was unable to establish a rhythm due to Boston’s effective on-ball defense, smart shifts, and persistent shot-blocking.
The visitors shot just 40% from the field going into the half, including 4/16 (25%) from beyond the arc. They were behind at the half, 59-46.
Kristaps Porzingis stayed in for the entirety of the third quarter after playing the first 6:12 of the game, sitting out the remainder of the first half, and finishing the second frame on the stationary bike.
The product of Latvia finished with nine points after blocking a shot from Jaden Ivey from behind and making two threes.
These three included a behind-the-back pass from Pritchard to Tillman for a fast-break layup following a Brown gift-wrapped interception, and a three-pointer from Mykhailiuk from the left corner to cap off an 8-0 run for the hosts. This increased Boston’s lead late in the third quarter to 85-64.
With a 92-66 lead going into the last 12 minutes, the hosts had completely taken control of the game.
Brown led all scorers with 31 points after 36 minutes of play. This involved doing several left-handed finishes and making sure that everyone in the building and the audience saw it afterwards knew about it.
