Blue Coats Top Celtics
January 13, 2022 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, Maine - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, overcame an 11 point deficit but could not hang on for the victory, falling to the Delaware Blue Coats Thursday night, 111-107 at the Portland Expo.
Deonte Burton led Maine (1-1) with 26 points, adding six rebounds and three assists. Sam Hauser followed with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for the double-double. Luke Kornet turned in 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocks while Brodric Thomas had 14 points (all in the third quarter), 13 rebounds and seven assists. Juwan Morgan chipped in 12, four and four and Eric Demers scored eight.
Maine collected the opening tip but the Celtics' first points didn't come until over two minutes later when Luke Kornet earned a trip to the free throw line. Braxton Key opened the scoring for Delaware, and after nearly six minutes the Blue Coats led 9-8. Back-and-forth play saw Shaquille Harrison and Sam Hauser each knock down a triple in the ensuing minutes. Delaware maintained a lead throughout most of the quarter and went into the second up 24-19.
Delaware kept Maine at bay by a handful early in the second before a thunderous jam from Juwan Morgan and a pair of threes from Eric Demers gave the Celtics offense some momentum. Harrison and Key were crucial for the Blue Coats in the first half, helping them to a 36-29 lead. The Celtics took advantage of some turnovers and got out in transition to make it 39-37, but were soon plagued by turnover issues themselves as Delaware responded with a 9-0 run. The Blue Coats led 52-43 at the break. Hauser tallied 13 points and 5 rebounds while Kornet had eight and eight. Deonte Burton and Eric Demers each scored eight first-half points. Maine shot 18-43 (41.9 percent) from the field, 5-19 from deep (26.3 percent) and 1-2 from the line (50 percent) in the first half. Delaware shot 20-54 (37 percent) from the field, 6-19 (31.6 percent) from downtown and 4-8 (50 percent) from the stripe.
The second half opened with an 8-0 Celtics run that came to an end when Key threw one down in the lane and Jaden Springer buried a triple on the next trip. Delaware led 68-60 four minutes into the third, with Key, Harrison and Springer providing the majority of the offense. Maine slowly chipped away, forcing the Blue Coats into tough shots. Thomas caught fire in an instant, hitting three three-pointers on his way to 14 points in the quarter, but a 6-0 Delaware run in the final minutes gave the Blue Coats an 81-77 lead after three.
Deng Adel dished to John Bohannon to open the fourth-quarter scoring; Adel finished with five assists, three coming in a crucial late-game run. Burton had been Maine's go-to scorer all night long, and his layup along with a three from Kornet tied the game midway through the final frame. Both teams responded to runs and momentum from each other as the game unfolded down the stretch. Burton and Hauser got into the lane for back-to-back tough layups that put Maine up 102-100 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. After the Blue Coats tied it, Springer's corner three-pointer gave Delaware the lead with under a minute to go, one they would not relinquish. Maine shot 43-89 (48.3 percent) from the floor, 15-43 (34.9 percent) from long-range and 4-5 (80 percent) at the line. Delaware shot 40-99 (40 percent) from the floor, 13-34 from distance (38.2 percent) and 12-18 (66.7 percent) at the stripe.
The Celtics will be back at The Expo on Saturday, Jan. 15 to face the Cleveland Charge. Tickets are available by visiting MaineCeltics.com.
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