The Boston Celtics left Philadelphia with a nail-biting victory over the 76ers, while guard Derrick White left with a visible battle scar.
White, who scored 18 points and shot 7-of-9 from the field in 25 minutes off the bench, had a visibly large scratch across his neck during the game. While it’s unknown which particular play gave the 28-year-old the bloody cut, White managed to still remain poised and provide fellow Celtics teammates with some in-game laughter.
“I didn’t even know it happened,” White said, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “It was some timeout and everybody said, ‘It’s your neck.’ How am I going to look at my own neck?”
The Eastern Conference rivalry battle came down to the wire when the C’s trailed in double-digits in the third quarter. And White’s performance proved to be crucial as only 27 points were contributed by the reserve unit on an uncharacteristic night.
Nevertheless, Boston went on to claim their third straight win over Philadelphia this season, with one game left scheduled for April 4 at Wells Fargo Center.
“We understand that we got a lot of talented guys on the team,” White said, per NBC Sports Boston video. “We can’t play everybody. So, some nights it’s gonna be you, some nights it’s gonna be Malcolm (Brogdon), some nights it’s gonna be Sam (Hauser). Like it can be anybody and we trust everybody on the team.”
