As if facing the defending NBA champions on the road was not enough, the visiting Houston Rockets must also contend with the development that the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White appears to have broken out of his shooting slump when the teams plays Monday night.
White entered Saturday’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks shooting 37.4 percent through the team’s first 12 games in January, then tossed in 23 points to help the Celtics cap a four-game road trip with a 122-107 victory.
White missed his first six shots, three of which came from 3-point territory, but made seven of his next 10 attempts, including four 3-pointers. He scored 16 points in the third quarter alone.
“We’re a different beast when D-White gets going,” Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis said. “He started hitting floaters, 3s, and deep corner 3s. He hit so many daggers for us. That brings us to another level.”
Boston’s starting lineup scored 104 points against Dallas as each starter had at least 17 points. The Celtics made 20 of their 52 attempts from 3-point range (38.5 percent).
“Every night can be somebody different,” White said. “I just think we each made big plays. Whatever the moment was, everybody just stepped up and made a play that they needed to make. We got a lot of talent and it’s nice when we’re all clicking like that.”
Houston has won two in a row and is 9-1 in road games since Dec. 8. The Rockets have been receiving strong play from 6-foot-7 forward Amen Thompson, who had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday’s 135-131 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thompson, the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is averaging 13.2 points per game this season, but that is up to 17.7 points in his last 10 games. He had at least 10 rebounds in three of his last four games.
“He’s playing great,” Houston’s Alperen Sengun said. “He’s playing both ends great, under the rim. They’re helping a lot on me and Jalen (Green), and when they help, Amen is pushing them under the rim. And defense — he can guard anybody in this league and he’s giving everyone a hard time. So he’s so important for us.”
Houston coach Ime Udoka praised Thompson’s defensive effort against the Cavaliers.
“He’s pretty much ready to take on whatever, whether it’s one through five, and he did that,” Udoka said. “He started on Mobley, switched to Garland and Mitchell, obviously late in the game. And it’s a lot to ask of somebody, and he comes up with a triple-double, big defensive stops, rebounds and all of the above.
“(Amen) was a huge piece in everything we did on both sides of the ball.”
Monday’s game will be the second meeting between the teams this season. White scored a team-high 23 points when Boston earned a 109-86 win in Houston on Jan. 3. The Celtics, who played without Jaylen Brown, led by 10 after three quarters and scored the first 11 points in the fourth. Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 20 points for Boston.
Green scored 27 points for Houston, which shot 36.4 percent from the field.
Thompson did not play in the first game against the Celtics. He was serving the second game of a two-game suspension he received after an altercation with Miami’s Tyler Herro.