Celtics’ Derrick White sounds off on what went wrong with final play in 76ers loss

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Celtics’ Derrick White sounds off on what went wrong with final play in 76ers loss

Daniel Donabedian, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Oct 23, 2025 ·

4 min read

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The post Celtics' Derrick White sounds off on what went wrong with final play in 76ers loss appeared first on ClutchPoints .

BOSTON — With the game on the line on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics wanted to get the ball in the hands of star guard Jaylen Brown . But that's not how things played out at the end of the Green Team's 117-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers .

With just 1.6 seconds remaining in a one-point affair, Brown was heavily guarded and even wrapped up by Sixers guard Quentin Grimes . Instead of forcing a pass to Brown, first-year Celtic Anfernee Simons inbounded the ball to reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard .

Although Pritchard has demonstrated that he can hit big shots throughout his NBA career , he was defended well and couldn't get the potential game-winning jumper to fall.

Following the season-opening loss, Celtics guard Derrick White explained that giving the final shot to Pritchard was not Boston's initial plan.

"I mean, we were trying to get it to [Brown]," White stated. "They did a good job of denying him."

Despite the unfortunate outcome, White didn't mind Pritchard ending up with the ball. In fact, he said he wouldn't have necessarily adjusted the last play if it were up to him.

"[Pritchard] came to the ball and we obviously trust P in those situations a lot," he said. "So, I wouldn't change much."

Pritchard had an earlier chance at stealing the game for the C's with 3.3 seconds left, yet his layup attempt went off the bottom of the rim. He still finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals in the loss.

The Celtics had a chance to leave the opener with a win

To add to Boston's frustrating finish, it actually had control of the game with about four minutes remaining before the final buzzer.

Center Neemias Queta had just finished an acrobatic layup to provide the Celtics with a 109-100 lead with 3:47 to go. From there, things went awry, as the Sixers outscored the C's 17-7 to round out a blistering 42-point fourth quarter.

Brown, the longest-tenured Celtic and Boston's lead scorer alongside White – 25 points apiece – realized his squad could've left TD Garden with a victory.

"It's tough," Brown replied when asked about not receiving the ball at the end of the game. "Definitely a winnable game for us. You know, we had some opportunities. Even at the end, we had some opportunities. It didn't go our way. It's a learning experience. It's going to be a learning experience. From day one, we got a bunch of new guys. We're playing a new style. I thought we played hard today. I thought we played a winnable game. Just some crucial errors that cost us."

With Celtics star Jayson Tatum rehabbing a ruptured Achilles and multiple starters from last year's team gone via offseason trades, the 2025-26 Celts' are truly made up of a "bunch of new guys." That showed on the defensive end of the floor, where the C's allowed a combined 74 points to Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe .

Overall, Philadelphia shot 40% from deep while Boston shot 25.6% from beyond the arc. That disparity outweighed the fact that the Celtics won the turnover battle and were more efficient from the free-throw line than the Sixers.

While a blown fourth-quarter lead and a one-score defeat is disheartening, Brown knows it's all a part of the process, especially for a group of guys who are still getting to know one another.

"I'm looking forward to watching film and learning and staying with the journey," Brown said. "We got a new group that's still figuring things out. Some of these other teams have played together for a little bit more, so there's going to be some ups and downs. But I'm looking forward to just learning every day with the group. And I'm looking forward to when we get to that point where we catch our wind, and what that could possibly be."

Boston will have a chance to avenge its first season-opening loss since 2021 soon. On Halloween, the Celtics will travel to Philly for an NBA Cup showdown with the Sixers.

But before that, the Green Team will seek even greater revenge on the New York Knicks , who bounced them from the 2025 NBA Playoffs in six games . The 0-1 C's and 1-0 Knicks meet at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

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