Stephen Curry, Jamal Murray, and Klay Thompson. Only those NBA players have been able to duplicate Derrick White’s recent amazing postseason tear.

White made history on Tuesday by becoming just the fourth player in NBA playoff history to make 20 3-pointers in three games. In the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden, he scored seven points on twelve shots as the Boston Celtics easily defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95.

In his previous two appearances, White was just as deadly, going 8-for-15 from beyond the arc in Game 4 against the Miami Heat and 5-for-10 in the Game 5 championship, games the C’s won by double digits.

Fans anticipate such performances from a 3-point shooting virtuoso such as Curry. But not from White, who was by no means a skilled marksman.

“Derrick White has matured,” stated fellow player Jaylen Brown. This is a fresh iteration that hasn’t been seen previously. He worked hard at it. His physique has somewhat changed. He’s more seasoned in the playoffs and displaying aggression. That’s what we implore him to do. Later on, we will require that more and more.

Recall White’s first postseason as a Celtic following his trade from San Antonio in 2022? During Boston’s NBA Finals run, he shot horribly (36.4% overall, 31.3% from three), and he had no impact outside of the arc.

That year, White made 26 triples in 23 postseason games. This postseason, he’s already 28 years old and shooting just as often and efficiently as the best snipers in the game.

White’s finest season to date included rankings of 29th in made 3-pointers per game, 27th in 3-point attempts, and 48th in 3-point shooting percentage (39.6%) even during the regular season.

Only Damian Lillard and Luka Doncic have tried more threes per game than White’s 9.3 total thus far in these playoffs, and Lillard’s total is higher than White’s 4.7. White is third in the league with a 50% success percentage on those shots; the two players who shoot better than him, Delon Wright of Miami and Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota, each average less than five attempts per game.

White had never made five or more 3-pointers in three straight NBA games, regular season or postseason, prior to his current hot streak.

White, who ended the game with 25 points, stated, “I think I’m getting pretty good looks.” “After that, of course, you create a couple; the basket is little larger. After that, you may even take and create more difficult ones. I believe I entered the game looking excellent and basically progressed from there.”

The Celtics offense, which led the NBA in points per 100 possessions during the regular season, now has even more weapons because to White’s impressive 3-point shooting transformation.

Think about this: Jayson Tatum, who has been Boston’s top scorer for the past five seasons and was selected to the All-NBA first team twice, is currently third on the team in terms of points per game this postseason, behind only White and Brown. Despite Tatum’s poor shooting performance in Game 1 against the Cavaliers (18 points on 19 shots), the Celtics prevailed handily, maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Tatum praised White’s play on both sides of the court, saying, “I love it.” “It’s simply loading the defense with a lot of pressure for Tuesday and the last series. We simply have so many options for winning games that I imagine it’s difficult for the opposition to try to figure that one out.

The big man Kristaps Porzingis, who averaged 20 points per game before suffering a calf strain, was out, but the Celtics won their two games without him by scores of 34 and 25.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla stated, “(White is) the kind of guy that can impact the game differently every night.” He’s willing to do and has done whatever the game asks of him. And we depend on him to keep doing that.