Andrew White III wasn't bashful during his NBA debut.
The undrafted rookie out of Syracuse, who signed a two-way contract in mid-January, knew he'd get a chance to play on Wednesday with three starters sitting out. His forte is perimeter shooting and he didn't turn down any chances to let it fly. White scored a team-high 15 points in 17 minutes in the team's 104-98 loss at Detroit, attempting 11 field goals in the process.
"You've got to get out there and play with the mentality of 'Try not to go back,' " said White, who has played in 34 G League games. "So that's kind of running through my mind throughout the game. Just to try to maximize opportunities, so hopefully the Hawks staff and everybody saw that and I continue to improve. I'm just confident in myself, confident I can play at this level."
White, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard, came off to bench with 3:58 remaining in the opening quarter and promptly committed a turnover. Moments later, he attempted a 3-point shot in transition. That bounced off the rim. So did his drive to the basket on the Hawks' next possession. He then committed a foul.
That didn't discourage him.
His breakthrough basket with 2:29 left in the first, a reverse layup off a DeAndre Bembry feed, were the only points Atlanta scored in the last six minutes of the quarter. He missed another 3-point try as the buzzer sounded, then collected his first assist on a lob to John Collins during the opening minutes of the second quarter before coming out.
"Got my turnover out of the way and then I felt pretty free after that," White said.
White drained his first three from the left side after returning later in the quarter, then made a floater over Detroit All-Star Andre Drummond.
Upon re-entering late in the third, White knocked down his second three -- and just the fourth by the Hawks in 25 attempts. White used a shot fake to free himself for a midrange jumper later in the quarter, then tossed in another three from the left wing just before the buzzer.
White went scoreless during four fourth-quarter minutes.
"He obviously made a great first impression," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He turned it over the first time he touched it, kind of fumbled it to the other team and didn't make his first shot but he just kept on going. That's what it takes."
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