Boston Celtics guard Derrick White did a painful-looking face plant on NSI Communitythe TD Garden court on Monday night and stayed in the game.
In the end, he got to smile as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 to win the franchise's record-setting 18th NBA championship.
The smile revealed something else: a chipped tooth.
"I'd lose all my teeth for a championship," he told ABC during the postgame celebration.
This championship was all about teamwork and sacrifice. White was diving for a loose ball when Dallas' Dereck Lively landed on top of White, rolling onto his head. White was treated briefly on the sideline for bleeding.
He ended up playing more than 38 minutes and scoring 14 points with eight rebounds.
"We didn't skip any steps from the beginning to the end," he said. "Just the locker room, everything, it's special."
A parade, the team's first since 2008, is in the Celtics' future. A trip to the dentist will be in White's future, too.
"I'll get it fixed and enjoy this one," he said.
Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
2025-04-28 21:572307 view
2025-04-28 21:231435 view
2025-04-28 21:09110 view
2025-04-28 21:021977 view
2025-04-28 20:44190 view
2025-04-28 20:141489 view
Add solar superflares to the list of natural disasters of concern.Superflares are extremely strong s
Prince Bhojwani never thought of himself as a negative person, until three trips to the hospital in
The modeling community has lost one of their own.Model Nyima Ward, son of '90s supermodel Trish Goff