White breaks out of slump and other takeaways from Celtics win

Boston Celtics

“I told somebody one game that I might not make anything else, but I’ll make a big one,” White said.

Derrick White scratched his head and smiled as he was asked about his slump-busting 27-point performance against Detroit on Wednesday night.

The Pistons can kiss their 13-game winning streak good-bye. These young, scrappy Celtics overcame a substantial disadvantage on the boards with a mix of hustle and accurate 3-point shooting.

White was the most efficient of the bunch, knocking down six of his 11 3-point attempts including several in the fourth quarter.

Jaylen Brown posted a 33-point, 10-rebound double-double. Baylor Scheierman went 5-for-7 from the field off the bench.

Cade Cunningham scored a game-high 42 points, but missed a potential game-tying free-throw at the end, allowing the Celtics to escape with a close win.

Here are five takeaways from the action.

Effort sparks White’s offense

So far, White’s shooting numbers have been significantly down almost across the board from where he was at this point last year.

He’s shooting under 40 percent (37.6) from the field in the month of November, and that’s an improvement from the way he began the year in October.

Wednesday night’s win was one of just three times that White made more shot attempts than he missed this month. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he knew White would snap out of his funk when once he saw him score off of a loose ball that Baylor Scheierman dove for.

White got plenty of good looks from beyond the arc and also buried some contested threes in big moments.

Mazzula said he gets excited when he sees White struggle because he knows that these kinds of breakout games will follow.

“I told somebody one game that I might not make anything else, but I’ll make a big one,” White said. “I don’t know what it is. Just trying to embrace the moment. A lot of it is just being in the right position and shooting it with confidence.”

Celtics had no answer for Jalen Duren on the boards

The Pistons out-rebounded the Celtics 56-44. Jalen Duren pulled down 16 of those rebounds.

The battle on the boards was tough sledding for Boston, which was without Neemias Queta. Luka Garza, who started in place of Queta grabbed just one rebound in 11 minutes. The bulk of Boston’s rebounding duties fell on the guards with Brown and White leading the team.

“It helped that we shot 47 percent from three, that makes up for a lot of other stuff. We got 20 points off of turnovers,” Mazzulla said. “I’m sure they dominated the shot margin. So, every game has just got to be completely different. To me, it was not as much about the execution as it was the mindset that we played with.”

Baylor Scheierman got hot early

Scheierman knocked down five of his first six shots, helping the Celtics keep up with Detroit offensively during a first half where Brown and White weren’t shooting the ball at their best.

In addition to his shooting touch, Scheierman brought energy off the bench that helped the Celtics snap Detroit’s streak.

“We can compete with anybody, like Joe preaches,” Scheierman said. “We just have to bring the energy every single night. When we do that, we’re a very good team.”

Jaylen Brown shakes off slow start

This was far from Brown’s most efficient performance. He went 12-for-32 from the field with five turnovers.

But, when the Celtics really needed a bucket — like when they were closing the gap late in the first half, or down the stretch, Brown was able to deliver.

“Just wanted to be aggressive, being that they’re a physical team,” Brown said. “I felt like I had some plays at the rim that I could have finished, maybe there could have been some calls, tried to get some of those calls. Didn’t happen. It is what it is but we found a way to win.”

A rare Amari Williams sighting

Rookie center Amari Williams made his first appearance since Nov. 1. It was his third appearance of the season.

He posted three rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes Wednesday night and helped eat up minutes on a night where the Celtics were shorthanded down low.

“I thought he looked good, I thought he looked great,” Brown said. “He was battling on the boards. He gave us that physicality that we needed down there because rebounding is something that we’ve got to do, but we’ve got a lot of small guys.”

“There’s only so much that the personnel can do. A big body like Amari makes a big difference.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.