Late in the fourth quarter Monday, with the outcome against the Pistons already decided, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a decision to make.

He could take Derrick White out and leave him one assist short of his first career triple-double, or he could let him play until he got that 10th dime. Mazzulla settled on a compromise, giving White a minute and setting up off-ball action to get Payton Pritchard or Ski Mykhailiuk a look.

Love how everyone single guy on the bench was happy for Derrick White after he secures his first career triple double pic.twitter.com/9AwEVa36bb

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) March 19, 2024

White hit Pritchard in stride, and Pritchard took care of the rest – burying a step-back 3 and sending White out in style. Twenty-two points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, spearheading the Celtics’ 119-94 victory.

“I’ve been close a lot of times, so I was like, ‘I’m going to try to get it this time,’” White said. “I’ve just got to shout out my teammates.”

While it was clear the accomplishment meant a lot to White, it also made him uncomfortable in a sense. The ultimate team guy, White was a bit out of his element as he hunted for that elusive assist.

“It was weird. I didn’t like it,” White said. “I didn’t play too good doing it. I’ve got to not do that ever again, hopefully.”

There it is. First career triple-double for Derrick White. 22, 10 and 10.

Payton Pritchard wouldn’t let his guy go home without one. Nothing but net @celticsblog pic.twitter.com/S2DnZFTzO2

— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) March 19, 2024

White and Pritchard pointed at each other after Pritchard drained the 3. White said that after Pritchard’s Oregon Ducks beat White’s Colorado Buffaloes in the conference championship – and a “couple dollars” were exchanged – hitting the 3-pointer was the least Pritchard could do.

The milestone was nice, but Mazzulla said it doesn’t tell the full story. White also had two steals, a chase-down block, hit six 3-pointers, eclipsed 5,000 career points, played strong defense and finished plus-17.

#Celtics guard Derrick White on his first-career triple-double:

“I’ve been close a lot of times, so I was like, ‘I’m gonna try to get it this time.’” pic.twitter.com/6eKnNQBIH0

— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) March 19, 2024

It was a complete team effort, but he was the catalyst alongside Jaylen Brown on a night where the Celtics were shorthanded and needed him to step up.

“The triple-double is an example of who he is as a player, but it doesn’t show how great he is on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said.

After the game, as he conducted a post-game interview, White managed to catch a glimpse of what was coming.

They got Derrick White 😂 pic.twitter.com/Y0PT6NXFuy

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 19, 2024

He spotted Luke Kornet and was able to avoid the bulk of the shower – though he did get a little wet.

“Luke is not the sneakiest person in the world, thankfully,” White said.