Davison with 16 Points, 16 Assists as Maine Rolls to 7-0
January 10, 2023 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - JD Davison tallied 16 points and a career-high 16 assists to power the Maine Celtics past the Grand Rapids Gold, 132-115 and continue the team's undefeated start to the regular season.
Davison led Maine (7-0) with 16 points, five rebounds and 16 assists (one shy of the franchise record), his third-career double-double and third game of 10-plus assists this season. Two-Way big Mfiondu Kabengele posted his second 29-point game of the season on 12-14 shooting, adding seven rebounds. Luka Šamanić added 19 points and six boards while Marial Shayok put up 17 points and five assists. Kamar Baldwin had 13 points and five rebounds. Reggie Kissoonlal II tied his career-high with 13 points in 13 minutes. Marvin Smith Jr. scored 11.
Chasson Randle led Grand Rapids (2-5) with 24 points and four assists. Grant Golden added 22, five rebounds and five assists and Jared Butler logged 20 points and five assists. Trevon Duval recorded 19 points and Adonis Arms had 15 and five rebounds.
Kabengele collected Šamanić's miss and put it back for the game's first bucket, with Butler getting the Gold on the board on the next trip. Butler and Golden led Grand Rapids to a hot start as they took a 14-6 lead in the early-going before five quick points from Shayok got the Celtics up to speed. The Gold made nine of their first 10 shots and finished the night shooting 60.3 percent from the floor, but the No. 1 offense in the G League woke up at the end of the first. A 12-8 Celtics run to end the quarter tied the game at 38 after one.
The game went back-and-forth for a few minutes to start the second before a 7-0 put Grand Rapids back in the lead, 52-44. The Celtics defense struggled to contain drives at times, and it wasn't until they began working the ball into the paint themselves when they started to take full control of the game. Maine ripped off a massive 26-8 run heading into the locker room, with Davison taking advantage of the Gold's lack of size on the interior and picking apart the defense to set up his teammates. The Celtics stormed out to a 73-64 lead at the break behind a first-half double-double from Davison.
Maine held onto a near-double digit lead in the third until Butler and Golden took over again, helping the Gold get within four, 76-72 off a 7-0 run. It didn't take long for the Celtics to put the pressure back on; the lead quickly got back beyond two possessions before Šamanić buried consecutive triples to stretch the lead to 10, 89-79. The Celtics held off every Grand Rapids run from that point onward, pushing the lead out to 17, 99-81 by the end of the third.
Trey Davis connected with Davison for a skyscraping lob to set the tone for Maine in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Celtics held serve for the entire frame, maintaining a sizeable lead for the remainder of the night. With the Two-Way players at the helm, Maine earned a two-game sweep of the Gold with a 132-115 victory and will head back to Portland with an undefeated record.
The Maine Celtics return home for a two-game set with the Delaware Blue Coats on Jan. 12 and Jan. 14 before hosting the Lakeland Magic for a back-to-back the following weekend.
NBA G League Stories from January 10, 2023
- Ignite Escapes with Win over Capitanes in Nail-Biting Finish - NBA G League Ignite
- Salt Lake City Drops Contest to Rio Grande Valley to End Homestand - Salt Lake City Stars
- Vipers Shine Bright In Victory Over Stars - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Raptors 905 Defeated by Capital City - Raptors 905
- Greensboro Falls to Westchester - Greensboro Swarm
- Davison with 16 Points, 16 Assists as Maine Rolls to 7-0 - Maine Celtics
- Knicks Cap Homestand With 32-Point Victory Over Swarm - Westchester Knicks
- Jonathan Isaac's Game with Lakeland to Air on Bally Sports Sun - Osceola Magic
- Jonathan Isaac Assigned to Lakeland - Osceola Magic
- NBA G League News & Notes: January 10 - G League
- Greensboro Swarm to Play Windy City Bulls on January 21st - Greensboro Swarm
- Stockton Kings Fall Short to Sioux Falls Skyforce - Stockton Kings
- Second Half Rally Pushes Skyforce over Kings 112-106 - Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Clippers Take Down Squadron In Home Opener - Ontario Clippers
- South Bay Lakers Defeat Iowa for Three Straight - South Bay Lakers
- South Bay Lakers Defeat Iowa Wolves,143-132 - Iowa Wolves
- Clippers Top Squadron, 106-97, in Ontario - Birmingham Squadron
- 905 Hand Go-Go Their First Loss of the Regular Season - Raptors 905
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
