Lakers Stop Red Claws' Rally
February 5, 2018 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
El Segundo, CA - February 5, 2018 - The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, erased a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter, but eventually fell to the 1st place South Bay Lakers Monday night, 121-115.
The Red Claws (16-19) were led by a prolific performance by L.J. Peak, who finished with 37 points, with 29 of those points coming in the second half. Anthony Bennett added 22 points for Maine, Drew Barham scored 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Daniel Dixon finished with 14 points, Devin Williams added 12 points, and Vitto Brown scored 11 off the bench.
South Bay (21-12) was led by Alex Caruso and Thomas Bryant with 18 points each.
Bennett opened the scoring with a two-handed slam on a broken play. Bennett followed that up with a corner three, giving Maine a 7-5 early lead. The Lakers went on a run, led by NBA G League Player of the Week Travis Wear and Gary Payton II. South Bay opened up a 17-12 lead halfway through the quarter. Peak rattled home a three, but the Red Claws trailed 30-23 after the 1st quarter.
In the 2nd, South Bay scored 4 quick points, answered by a Barham corner three. Thomas Bryant's monster slam extended the Lakers lead to 10. South Bay started the game making 18 of its first 27 shots, taking a 46-34 lead. Peak hit another three, but Wear followed that up with a trey of his own. Bennett slammed home back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 8, but Scott Machado and the Lakers would extend to a 63-50 halftime lead. South Bay shot 56% (25-45) from the field in the first half, while the Red Claws shot just 40% (20-50). Bennett led all scorers with 17 points at the half.
The Lakers picked up right where they left off in the 2nd half, with Payton leading the charge. Dixon got things going offensively with a three ball, but Lakers assignee Ivica Zubac answered with a bucket of his own. The Red Claws got it back to 10 at 69-59, and Peak's three cut it to 7. Dixon went to the line for three to make it 74-70 Lakers. Brown's three cut it to three points, and Peak's free throws made it a one point game at 78-77. Barham's running floater gave the Red Claws the lead. The 10-0 run put Maine up 81-78, and at the end of 3, the Claws and Lakers were tied at 85. Maine out-scored South Bay 35-22 in the 3rd.
In the 4th quarter, Bennett's deep three gave Maine a 91-90 lead. Peak continued his strong second half, knocking in a pair of threes. Peak's big slam extended Maine's lead to 106-101. The Lakers then went on an 8-0 run, led by Machado and Zubac. Off a turnover, Zubac's offensive board and putback put South Bay up 115-109. Peak got it back to a 2 point game, but Machado's floater in the final seconds put it away.
The Red Claws shot 44% (40-90) from the floor, 36% (18-50) from three-point range, and a perfect 17-17 from the free throw line, with every attempt coming in the second half. South Bay shot 48% (43-89) from the field, 29% (10-34) from downtown, and 25-32 from the charity stripe.
The Red Claws return to action at home on Saturday against Fort Wayne. Limited tickets are available by calling 207-210-6655 or visiting MaineRedClaws.com.
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