NBA Notebook: Derrick White's father reacts to son's legendary game-winner

MIAMI — Derrick White tipped in one of the most important shots in Celtics history and could only think about returning home to see his 1-year-old son after. 

"It's gonna be crazy. My phone's already blowing up. I'll get home tomorrow and play with Hendrix," he said. "I'm sure he won't look at me any differently, so that'll be cool." 

Everyone else in Boston will for the rest of time, if the Celtics complete an 0-3 comeback (only the third team in NBA history with a chance to do so in Game 7) on Monday at 8:30 p.m. -- and better yet if it leads to a championship. The Celtics tried to stay stoic, knowing they need to win one more after one of the wildest finishes in playoff history. Boston shot 20% from 3 and won with defense and a concerted offensive rebounding effort. Jayson Tatum and Al Horford crashed from different angles when Marcus Smart caught White's inbound pass and Max Strus abandoned White to prevent the pass to Tatum. White darted baseline as White heaved a three. Jaylen Brown called the crash a flash of lightning. 

Over 2,000 miles away in Colorado, Richard White watched, waited and reacted like all the Celtics fans in Miami, nervously awaiting confirmation of a play nobody knew immediately flipped Boston from elimination to another game. That's all Derrick cares about, Richard told Boston Sports Journal -- playing another night with his teammates. The adulation he received last postseason, following game-winning free throws and a standout first round against Atlanta didn't appeal to Derrick.

"I texted him, but he's under an avalanche of other things," Richard said on Saturday morning. "It was pretty cool and he'll be home today, probably up soon, because that's when Hendrix gets up, but he'll be right up there with Hendrix and he's pretty excited about that. He's pretty much that way, he just wants to play. He made that play, and there's another game, another 48 minutes of him doing what he loves to do and he's learning to adjust to it, because he's had quite a few moments that have put him out there, so he's getting better with it, but that's not his main goal, his main focus." 

White's earned All-Defensive Second Team status this season, a role in the starting lineup for nearly the entire season and a drastic individual improvement over his first season in Boston. His contributions littered the Celtics' comeback, including drilling six threes in Game 5, blocking five shots over the past three games and limiting Jimmy Butler to 12-for-31 shooting (38.7% FG) when switched onto him, according to NBA tracking data. White blocked Butler for the fourth time in the series in Game 6 and hit a pull-up three with five minutes remaining to push the Celtics ahead by eight points, before their 10-point advantage dwindled into a one-point deficit.

Richard saw White line up as the in-bounder as he often does, passing away from Tatum and Brown as Miami face-guarded them and making what Joe Mazzulla later referred to as a difficult read to find Smart. Then, White needed to make a difficult decision to either give Smart another outlet along the three-point line or cut toward the basket. White later said he felt useless in the corner, so he attacked. The ball rolled around the rim, Smart nearly solidifying his own iconic status, instead falling over and watching his shot roll out onto White's fingertips off the backboard and both guards pointed down, motioning for a good basket the officials soon called on the floor. Heat fans shrieked, a significant number of Celtics fans in the crowd waited for moment, then erupted with the players on the sideline. 

"When he passed it into Marcus, I saw him bolt," Richard said. "Because the way Strus was guarding, if Marcus had kicked it out, he could've had a shot at 3, so that was pretty good and then Marcus' shot almost went in and it should've gone in, and because he shot it so clean, that left the rebound. If he had shot a clanker up there, there's no rebound. He bolted in from the corner and the ball just came to him. He didn't really catch it cleanly either, we've seen the replay a million times and so he got it, he got it off and we sat there and had to wait. I knew they were gonna do a review, but then they showed the replay and it was clearly out of his hands. It was the opposite of the Philadelphia (Game 4 finish)." 

"It went in, but then you just had to wait to see," he continued. "The light and all that other stuff had gone on, you wanted it to be so, just hoping that technology comes through." 

Richard took to Twitter immediately. 

Derrick received advice from his father, as he almost routinely does, following the game after dad watches intently, scans the defensive numbers from the previous game and gives his son a point of emphasis entering the game. They rarely care about shot-making or the flashy plays, focusing on defense. For Game 6, Richard told Derrick: it's a big opportunity, you've gotta lock up defensively, limit Jimmy's touches and dare to be great. Richard loved that the final play didn't involve free throws, like Game 5 against the Hawks that turned into an eventual loss. 

It didn't involve thinking like his three-pointer that put the Celtics up by two points in March against the Cavaliers before Donovan Mitchell's game-tying free throws forced overtime in the Grant Williams free throw game. Richard tweeted again -- Game 6 finished with White's first game-winning shot of his NBA career. White, on the podium, wanted to fact-check his dad, remembering a 3 against California on senior night playing for Colorado while University of Colorado/Colorado Springs head coach Jeff Culver witnessed numerous big shots and finishers fall during White's time at the Division II level. 

"Not sure we had one quite like that," Culver texted BSJ. "With those stakes and with 0.1 (seconds) left." 

Richard won't travel to Boston knowing the series started with two losses at TD Garden while he sat in the crowd. He'll watch at home hoping Derrick and the Celtics clinch an NBA Finals trip to Denver, 25 miles from White's native Parker, Colorado where Legend High School retired his No. 21 jersey earlier this season. 

Boston's public relations legend Jeff Twiss noted White's shot joined Michael Jordan's famous one over Craig Ehlo as the only buzzer-beaters to avoid playoff elimination, though only if the Celtics come back and win the series. Smart sat in shock at his locker, stuck between wanting to circle the room after and celebrate with teammates while reminding himself -- one more. One more. For Richard, who Derrick knew would love his All-Defensive honor more than anyone, the turnaround started on defense.

"They've loved and trusted each player to do what they're supposed to do," Richard said. "Jaylen and Jayson are extremely talented offensive players, but they're trusting when they get doubled to swing the ball to Derrick and Marcus, and they're making shots. We started off the series, Jimmy was doing pretty much whatever he wanted and as the series has gone on, he's figuring it out, what he needs to do and is just consistently, like he's always done, is contest shots. Sometimes they make them, sometimes they don't, but if you don't contest, they're gonna make a whole lot more than when you do. He's battling out there, he's contesting, he's trying to make it difficult on Jimmy without fouling ... that's what changed. You go and you play hard and you battle." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Boston (down 2-3 vs. Miami): Aiming to become the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 0-3, dropping Games 1-2 in the fourth quarter against a Jimmy Butler onslaught. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum struggled immensely against the Miami zone and Joe Mazzulla took all the blame for a disastrous performance in Miami that led many analysts to accuse the Celtics of quitting. After a Top Golf session, film and discussions, Tatum dominated Games 4-5 and saved Boston's season alongside Marcus Smart's leadership on defense. The team likely lost Malcolm Brogdon to a partial tear in his right arm that limited him to two points in Games 3-5 before he sat out. Game 6 is on Saturday at 8:30. 

Brooklyn: Bruce Brown, who's bound for the NBA Finals as one of the Nuggets' key additions, insinuated on his exit from the Brooklyn Nets last summer came on behalf of someone outside of the front office. Whether Joe Tsai, Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving made that call, Brown noticed the shift in the locker room's mood last year when the Nets traded James Harden to Philadelphia. Brown, who went on to sign a two-year, $13.3 million player option, called Harden one of greatest teammates ever. Brown averaged 11.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.1 SPG on 48.3% shooting this season. 

Dallas: Reportedly not intending to help any team land unrestricted free agent Kyrie Irving through sign-and-trade, a major hindrance to a team like the Lakers, who would need to clear almost all of their depth to land Irving. Only lottery teams like the Rockets, Spurs and others project to create enough cap space to sign Irving for up to $40.2-million he could receive at 30% of the salary cap. With his Bird Rights, the Mavericks can re-sign him to a roughly five-year, $272.92 million deal, a significant advantage and one that would almost certainly land him back in Dallas given where he's at in his career. 

“I’m a free agent this summer, But I am in no rush to make a decision," Irving, meanwhile, said during an Instagram live this week after appearing at numerous LA playoff games. "When they speak on my name talking about potential teams, can y’all please stop paying attention to that." 

Denver: Await the winner of Heat-Celtics as west champs for the first time in franchise history, sweeping the Lakers with two tense road wins that likely cement this group as favorites regardless of who advances from the east rock fight. Nikola Jokić won West finals MVP, averaging 27.8 PPG, 14.5 RPG and 11.8 APG on 50.6% shooting, including a 47.1% mark from deep, seemingly impossible given how difficult Anthony Davis made life for him. It's fair to say Jokić enters the Finals as an unstoppable and unprecedented basketball force. One ready to reach a new stratosphere of NBA legend. Jamal Murray, who posted 32.5 PPG, will have something to say alongside about who the league's best duo is if Boston advances, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. reflect a masterclass in team building by former GM Tim Connelly and Calvin Booth. 

"If anybody is still talking about the Lakers in the NBA Finals, that’s on them. They’re gone fishing. We’re still playing,” Michael Malone said after Chris Mannix lamented Denver reaching the Finals as an uninteresting story. “The narrative should be on whatever two teams are still alive because to get to that point is historical in nature to us. It’s the first time in franchise history the Denver Nuggets have made the NBA Finals.”

Detroit: Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee or former Overtime Elite and University of Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie will replace Dwane Casey on the Pistons' sideline after Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins reportedly fell out of the race. Monty Williams also entered their radar and received a substantial offer that did not intrigue him. Detroit falling to No. 5 after entering the lottery sharing the highest odds to land Victor Wembanyama marked a devastating blow to the allure of the Pistons' future, and they will likely shop the selection like Portland and Houston in front of them. 

Lakers: LeBron James will possibly undergo surgery on his injured foot that hobbled him late in the season into the playoffs, where he still managed 24.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 6.5 APG on 49.8% shooting playing nearly 40 minutes each night. He also mulled retirement after the Lakers lost in four games to the Nuggets, concluding his 20th season as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Walking away seems improbable given his level of play, the Lakers' turnaround behind Anthony Davis' MVP-level play late in the year, potential improvements coming, his son Bronny beginning his career at USC and The Athletic reporting it's unlikely he'd actually go through with it. James pondering it for the first time serves as an early reminder, nonetheless, he won't play forever and could serve as pressure on the LA front office to maximize his time remaining. He previously lamented the team not landing Kyrie Irving. 

“I don’t like to say it’s a successful year because I don’t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career,” James said after Game 4. “I don’t get a kick out of making a conference (finals) appearance. I’ve done it — a lot. And it’s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the (NBA) Finals."

Memphis: Police conducted a welfare check on Ja Morant after a concerning string of social media posts and found him ok, another turbulent moment in a long year for the Grizzlies star filled with lawsuits, suspensions and unwise Instagram lives. Morant remains suspended from Grizzlies' offseason activities after flashing a gun, again, while streaming in a car while the NBA addresses the conduct. He previously mentioned difficulty managing stress and entered a counseling program briefly in March before returning from an eight-game suspension. Adam Silver, speaking at the draft lottery, did not sound pleased with Morant's repeated mistake.

"We talked directly about the consequences first," Silver told ESPN. "Frankly, most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media ... (he) seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. And we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career, but the safety issues around it -- [Morant] could've injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that -- and also the acknowledgment that he's a star. He has an incredibly huge following, and [we discussed] my concern -- and I thought he shared with me -- that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would have seen him do something that was celebrating in a way that act of using a firearm in that fashion."

"So I at least was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly serious."

Miami (tied with Boston 3-3): Gabe Vincent returned from a sprained left ankle he suffered in the fourth quarter of the Heat's Game 4 loss that opened the door for the Celtics to return to Miami and force a Game 7 at the buzzer in dramatic fashion. Jimmy Butler looked fatigued as injuries mounted on the Heat side, Vincent joining Victor Oladipo (knee) and Tyler Herro (hand) among the hurt Miami guards. The Celtics held Butler to fewer than 22 shot attempts in the previous four games, including 10 in Game 5, while Kyle Lowry struggled immensely supporting Vincent. Caleb Martin (58.3% FG, 46.2% 3PT) remained on fire and there's hope Miami can close out the series at home on Saturday, but they look banged up and tired. Erik Spoelstra joined Butler and Bam Adebayo's string of comments guaranteeing victory. 

"I don't know how we're gonna get this done, but we're gonna go up there and get it done," Spoelstra said. "We wish we could tip this thing off right now, right now, we want to tip this thing off and play another 48 minutes, but we'll wait 48 hours and do this thing in Boston."

Milwaukee: Adrian Griffin, a Giannis Antetokounmpo favorite, will replace Mike Budenholzer as Bucks head coach. After Nick Nurse's popularity didn't prove unanimous within the organization, as Ian Begley reported, Nurse backed out of the running that also included Monty Williams, Kenny Atkinson and Chris Quinn of the Heat. Griffin earned his first head coaching job after beginning his career with Jon Horst in Milwaukee before stopping in Oklahoma, Orlando and Chicago. He's a defensive coach, who served the previous five seasons under Nick Nurse in Toronto. Nurse's decision to back out baffled many. 

New York: Carmelo Anthony retired after an 18-season career where he finished ninth all-time with 28,289 points, and his No. 7 jersey could follow in New York with SNY reporting support within the Knicks organization to retire Anthony's number. While the team peaked out a second-round exit in 2013, Anthony rejuvenated New York basketball after a strong of down years, arriving in 2011 in a trade from Denver and averaging 24.7 PPG, winning the league scoring title in 2013. He'll soon enter the Hall of Fame.

Philadelphia: Nick Nurse emerged as a new frontrunner to replace Doc Rivers as head coach after Nurse reportedly backed out of the race to coach Milwaukee. Reuniting with GM Daryl Morey, who Nurse coached under in the G-League with Rio Grande Valley in 2012, is enticing to Nurse, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report. Mike Budenholzer, Mike D'Antoni, Monty Williams and Rivers' assistant Sam Cassell seem inevitable to round out the coaching search with Nurse. 

Phoenix: Suns assistant coach Kevin Young emerged as a strong contender to replace Monty Williams after interviewing for the position. It'd mark a surprising shift for a team that had Young on staff alongside Williams already, but not unprecedented, like when Nick Nurse originally replaced Dwane Casey in Toronto before winning a championship. Jordi Fernandez, Frank Vogel and Doc Rivers joined Young as finalists, though Young drew Devin Booker's support. Young's rise included a stop in Ireland.

Washington: Hired Clippers GM Michael Winger to replace Tommy Sheppard, a new direction for a middling franchise that must now decide Bradley Beal's future, make another important lottery selection (No. 8) and manage a roster of young players and veterans like Kristaps Porzingis, Monte Morris and free agent Kyle Kuzma. Beal owns a no trade clause. Winger worked alongside Lawrence Frank in LA, Sam Presti in Oklahoma City and Danny Ferry in Cleveland.