Red Claws Fall to Mad Ants
November 22, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME- The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, lost their first home game of the season thanks to a near triple-double performance by Julyan Stone, as Stone and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Tuesday night, 120-102.
Maine (4-2) was led by Damion Lee with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Marcus Georges-Hunt added 21 points off the bench on 10-13 shooting. Demetrius Jackson, on assignment from the Boston Celtics, added 18 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Abdel Nader scored eight points but was limited to just 13 minutes due to a shoulder injury. Stone led Fort Wayne (3-0) with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists. Stephan Hicks led the Mad Ants with 24 points.
The Red Claws started slowly in the opening of the game. Failing to find the basket, Maine fell into an early hole. The Mad Ants, meanwhile, made 5 of their first 7 shots, including three's by Travis Leslie and Trey McKinney-Jones. Fort Wayne jumped out to an early 16-5 lead. The 16-0 run extended the lead to 15 before Jackson broke through with his first field goal of the game. Marcus Georges-Hunt and Jackson picked things up for Maine, but the Claws still trailed 36-24 after one.
Jalen Jones opened the 2nd quarter with back-to-back three pointers. Nader converted a four-point play to cut the deficit to four. Nader drove to the basket and scored on the next possession to make it 41-38 Fort Wayne. The Mad Ants proceeded to go on a 11-2 run. Nader went down with a shoulder injury, but Arthur Edwards and the Red Claws bench picked up the slack. Georges-Hunt scored 13 points in the first two quarters, and Jackson's bucket at the buzzer cut it to 59-49 at the break.
Jones opened up the 3rd quarter with a bucket, getting the deficit back to eight points, but the Mad Ants surged again, going on a quick 10-0 run early in the third. E. Victor Nickerson put the Mad Ants up 22 points, but Coron Williams drained a pair of three's, and the Red Claws trailed 92-76 after three. In the 4th quarter, Damion Lee started to heat up, but every time Maine tried to get back into it, the Mad Ants had an answer. Alex Poythress' emphatic dunk put Fort Wayne up 100-83. From there, the Mad Ants rolled to victory.
The Red Claws head to Canada for a showdown with Raptors 905 on Saturday afternoon. Maine next returns to the Expo on Saturday, Dec. 3 with a matchup with Santa Cruz. Tickets are on sale now by calling 207-210-6655 or visiting MaineRedClaws.com.
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