Derrick White had to glue his teeth back in after dental injury vs. 76ers
Derrick White always leaves it all out on the floor for the Boston Celtics. For the second time in under a year, that included some of White's teeth hitting the parquet at TD Garden.
White suffered another dental emergency during Boston's 123-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, as he lost some teeth after taking an inadvertent elbow in the second quarter. White was trying to stop Kelly Oubre as the 76ers swingman drove to the hoop, and his chicklets took the brunt of the contact.
White quickly covered his mouth after getting hit in the chops, and replays showed a few teeth falling to the ground. He remained composed and picked up the lost chompers before he made his way to the Boston locker room.
His smile was mostly back to normal by halftime and it ended up being an easy fix, as White simply glued his teeth back into place . He returned for the start of the second half, giving new meaning to the term "Glue Guy," a moniker that White fits well.
"I was trying to debate how I was gonna go back. So I got some glue, put a mouthpiece on, and I was good to go," White explained after the win with glue still smeared over his smile.
He ended up playing 24 minutes in the Boston victory, scoring 12 points to go with three rebounds and six assists, all of which he dished out in the second half.
As Celtics fans will remember, White has some experience playing through a dental issue.
White lost his temporary teeth vs. 76ers
The teeth that came flying out of White's mouth Thursday night weren't his permanent pearly whites. They were temporaries put in last summer, after White chipped a tooth and had two others loosened on a fall to the floor during Boston's title-clinching Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks last June.
White was supposed to have permanent replacements put in a few weeks ago, but he procrastinated. He will not be delaying that procedure anymore.
"I'm gonna go [Friday]," he said.
White promised he'd be ready to go for Saturday night's huge matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden. Perhaps he should look into getting a bigger and better mouthguard before that tilt.
