The Boston Celtics made plenty of history on Monday night during a 117-103 road win over the Memphis Grizzlies. But no Green Teamer had a more historic performance than guard Derrick White.
Heading into Boston's sixth consecutive road contest, White had made 245 triples — one behind the franchise record for the most 3-pointers in a single season set by former Celtics star Isaiah Thomas eight years ago. And although White connected on just one of his first seven attempts from deep against the Grizzlies, that was enough to tie Thomas' feat.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, White broke the record with a 24-foot triple over Grizzlies 7-footer Zach Edey. White didn't stop there, though.
Boston went up by as many as 15 points in the final frame, yet Memphis fought back and cut the lead to seven with 2:55 to go. When the Celtics needed an answer, they called on White.
On the next possession, the reigning NBA champion was left open in the corner and made the Grizzlies pay with a massive 3-pointer. That triple gave the Celtics their first points in over four minutes, putting them up 113-103 with 2:34 remaining.
White finished with 14 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and one single-season record. However, there's still no guarantee he'll end up with the most 3-pointers for the C's during the 2024-25 campaign.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who contributed 25 points and 14 rebounds, just reached 240 triples. He's only one 3-pointer away from breaking his previous single-season 3-point output from 2023.
Sixth Man of the Year candidate Payton Pritchard is also in the running for Boston's 3-point crown. With 238 triples, the bench point guard trails White by nine makes. Despite seeing the court less than Tatum and White, he's shown he can heat up from deep as quickly as any starter, averaging the third-most 3-point makes per game for the Celtics.
How else did the Celtics make history against the Grizzlies?
The Celtics' excellence along the perimeter is known throughout the league. Their dominance on the road, however, isn't discussed as much.
After holding off Memphis, Boston posted an impressive 6-0 record on its longest road trip of the season. This marks the first time the C's have ever gone undefeated on a six-game road trip.
Achieving franchise history is difficult for a team with such a successful past, but the 2024-25 Celtics have made it a habit. In fact, if they win their final two road games versus the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic in April, they'll tie the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors for the best road record in NBA history.
That's not the only way the Celtics want to be like the Warriors. Boston's true goal is capturing back-to-back titles, something that hasn't been accomplished since Golden State won two rings in a row in 2017 and 2018.
Currently, the Celtics are 56-19 overall (a league-best 32-7 on the road), on a nine-game winning streak, and firmly in second place in the Eastern Conference. When the Warriors finished off their back-to-back stint, they were also in second place in their conference.
No matter what 3-point records the Celtics smash in the regular season, the only history they're concerned with centers around championships and building the first NBA dynasty since, of course, the Warriors.
