White joins Michael Jordan as the only players to achieve this NBA playoff feat originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Any time you can join Michael Jordan in making NBA playoff history, that’s a pretty impressive achievement. And that’s exactly what Boston Celtics guard Derrick White did Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
White saved the Celtics’ season and forced a Game 7 comeback in Boston on Monday night with a comeback in the last second – literally – of the fourth quarter.
The dramatic finish gave the Cs a 104-103 win and left Heat fans at Kaseya Center absolutely stunned.
White’s buzzer-beater is the sixth in league history for a team facing elimination. He also became the second player to hit a game-winning buzzer in a playoff game when his team was trailing at the time – Miami was leading 103-102 with three seconds remaining in the final stretch. The only other player to accomplish this feat is Jordan, who sank a buzzer-beater in Game 5 of the Chicago Bulls’ first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989.
The Heat led that series 3-0 at one point, and now they face the possibility of becoming the first team in league history to blow that kind of advantage in the series.
Game 7 is Monday night at TD Garden in Boston. Tipping is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. The atmosphere is going to be incredible, and a team will earn their ticket to the 2023 NBA Finals.