Must Cs: Derrick White calls game

In a game that saw the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves fire up just shy of 100 combined three-pointers, the most comical attempt of the night proved to be perhaps the most important. Witness: Derrick White’s bank shot three-pointer to give the Celtics an eight-point lead with 2:08 to play.

You can argue this shot’s status as a “dagger,” given how the Wolves battled back in the ensuing two minutes to come within a bricked Anthony Edwards pull-up from forcing overtime. But what’s inarguable is White’s influence down the stretch of this game. The bank shot was his second consecutive triple, coming as he scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to help bury the Wolves in another close game between the two franchises.

For the night, White finished with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, making five threes, grabbing two rebounds, dishing two assists and swatting two shots. It was perhaps his best individual performance since scoring 31 in mid-November in a loss to the Hawks, as he slumped somewhat in December, averaging 14.7 points on 41.3% shooting from the field.

The strong outing comes at an opportune time for White, who is looking to regain some momentum in the hunt for his first NBA All-Star selection. First returns from fan voting for the All-Star rosters were released earlier today and saw White ranked 10th among Eastern Conference guards, just below Washington’s Jordan Poole and Miami’s Tyler Herro.

The Eastern Conference’s backcourt race is as crowded as ever, and White feels like a longshot for the roster at this point in time. Stringing together some more standout performances like this — and perhaps a few more timely bank shots — could help begin to turn the momentum back in his favor.