5-0 Maine Celtics Come Back to Sweep Motor City
Published on January 6, 2023 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - The Maine Celtics overcame a slow shooting start and out-scored the Motor City Cruise by nine in the 4th quarter, surging to a 5-0 record in the regular season portion of the schedule with a 112-106 win Friday night at the Portland Expo. Maine has now won 5 consecutive games for the second time this season.
Maine (5-0) was led by a trio of 20-point scorers - Two-Way Player Mfiondu Kabengele finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead all scorers. Denzel Valentine added 20 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists, and Marial Shayok scored 20 points on 7-13 shooting. Luka Samanic and Two-Way Player JD Davison each scored 11 points, while Kamar Baldwin contributed 10.
Motor City (1-4) was led by Stanley Umude, who finished with 21 points.
The two teams traded baskets early, with Motor City taking a 13-9 edge on a David Nwaba bucket. Maine would respond, with Valentine showing the hot hand early. The back-and-forth 1st period ended with Maine taking a 30-29 lead on a Samanic free throw. Valentine poured in 13 points in the first half, on 5-9 shooting, including three from beyond the arc. Motor City shot the ball well, led by Stanley Umude's 14 first half points. The Cruise shot 51.3% (20-39) in the first half, while Maine shot just 35.6% (16-45), but still the Celtics held a 54-52 lead at the break.
In a back-and-forth third quarter that saw both teams shoot north of 60 percent from the floor, Kabengele led the way for Maine with six points on a pair of skyscraping dunks and a five-foot touch shot. Sykes tallied eight points and four assists as he captained Motor City's offense throughout the evening, helping the Cruise push ahead, 86-83 by the end of the third.
The first three quarters were closely contested, but the Celtics pulled away to earn the victory in crunch time. Davison logged six points, four assists and a critical steal in the decisive fourth quarter while Shayok added six points of his own. Cacok's strong play on the interior helped keep Motor City alive, but the clutch play of Maine's Two-Ways, Shayok and Valentine put it away for the Celtics as they collected a 112-106 victory to give themselves a 5-0 record.
Maine now hits the road for a pair of games at Grand Rapids on Sunday and Tuesday. The Celtics return to the Expo on Thursday, Jan. 12 and Saturday, Jan. 14, both games against Delaware.
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