Derrick White reveals Sixers fans were heckling Celtics ahead of Game 3

Story by

Story by
Derrick White reveals Sixers fans were heckling Celtics ahead of Game 3

Souichi Terada · MassLive

Fri, Apr 24, 2026 ·

2 min read

About Our Ads

PHILADELPHIA — The Celtics are on the road for their next two games against the 76ers , so that means some heckling now that they’re away from home. Derrick White , speaking after C’s shootaround Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, said he’s heard from Sixers fans even just leaving their hotel.

“It’s fun,” White said. “Even like walking to the bus today, the construction workers were yelling at us. You know what you get here. We’ve played a lot of big games in this arena. We know what to expect and it’s definitely a fun atmosphere.”

White said the jeers were all in good fun: “ Derrick White ’s not right tonight,” they said. But when the Celtics face the Sixers for Game 3 at 7 p.m. Friday, the Philly fans will bring it against their division rivals. The series is tied 1-1 after the Sixers’ upset Game 2 victory , meaning they have home-court advantage going forward.

The Celtics and Sixers are a historic NBA rivalry that goes back decades, so both fan bases will make sure the other side hears it plenty. The C’s have won the last six playoff series between the teams, dating back to the 1985 East Finals. The Sixers almost beat the C’s the last time the teams met in the 2023 second round, but Boston rallied from a 3-2 series deficit to defeat Philadelphia.

There will be plenty of animosity for Game 3. The Sixers stole a game in Boston despite missing former MVP Joel Embiid , who’s listed as doubtful for Friday’s game. While the Celtics lost home-court advantage, they’ve been great on the road in Game 3s in the past few playoffs as they look to bounce back.

Sixers fans will make sure the Celtics hear it Friday then for Sunday’s Game 4 in Philly. Fortunately for the C’s, they’ve been in hostile playoff environments consistently over the past few years.

“This is what you want to play for, especially in the playoffs,” White said. “This is kind of what you look forward to and you expect to have these atmospheres and you gotta go out there and compete. It’s just going to be us together on the team and that’s kind of the fun part about it.”

More Celtics content