Harper Jr. Leads Maine Celtics to 7th Straight Win
Published on December 6, 2025 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
PORTLAND, Maine - Ron Harper Jr. scored a game-high 32 points, and Keon Johnson posted 16 off the bench in his Celtics debut, helping to pace Maine to a 117-95 win over College Park Saturday afternoon.
The victory extends Maine's winning streak to seven games as the Celtics improve to 7-3 overall and to 5-0 at home. The loss drops College Park to 4-6 in the NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament and snaps a three-game winning streak for the Skyhawks.
Harper Jr. went 8-12 from beyond the arc, knocking down 8 of Maine's 20 made threes in his 32-point afternoon. Johnson was a game-high +33 in the win, producing 16 points on 5-11 shooting in his first game with Maine. Amari Williams notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Max Shulga with 15 points, Kameron Warrens with 10 and Jalen Bridges with 10 also all finished in double figures. As a team, the Celtics shot 43.5% (20-46) from three and 44.6% (41-92) from the field.
M.J. Walker Jr. paced College Park with 20 points in a game-high 40 minutes. Eli Ndiaye posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Javan Johnson poured in 19 points to go along with 8 rebounds, while Malik Williams scored 11 points, all in the first half. For the third straight game, Maine held its opponent to less than 40% shooting from the field and to under 100 points. The Skyhawks shot 38% (35-92) from the floor and to 26.7% (12-45) from three in 95 points in the loss.
Maine began the afternoon hot from beyond the arc, the Celtics started 3-3 from three, but the Skyhawks countered with three triples of their own to tie the game 15-15 at the first timeout. The C's continued to heat up from distance. Harper Jr. collected six of his 11 first-quarter points in an 18-6 Maine run to open a 33-21 lead with 1:52 to go in the first. A Dwight Murray Jr. buzzer-beating jumper closed the quarter for College Park, cutting the deficit to 35-27 after one.
The Celtics started the second cold. Maine was held scoreless in the first 2:41 of the quarter and began the second just 3-17 from the floor. With 3:57 to go in the first half, Johnson drilled a three to pull the game even at 42-42, capping off a 21-9 College Park run. But the Celtics closed the half strong. Maine outscored the Skyhawks 15-2 across the final 3:40 of the half, thanks to nine points in the stretch from Harper Jr., and took a 57-44 lead into the break. Harper Jr. led all scorers with 19 points in the first half as Williams chipped in eight points and six rebounds. As a team, Maine shot 39.6% (19-48) from the floor and 44% (11-25) from three at the half. Three different Skyhawks were in double figures at the break. Johnson and Williams led the way with 11 apiece, while Ndiaye posted 10. College Park went into the half shooting 34% (16-47) from the field and 26.1%(6-23) from distance.
Maine grew its lead to as large as 18 early in the third. A three by Kendall Brown put the Celtics on top 62-44 with 10:04 to play in the third. The Skyhawks got it down to nine. Walker connected from beyond the arc with 6:29 to go in the third, punctuating a 15-6 College Park spurt to cut the Maine edge to 68-59. But that was the closest College Park would get. Maine again closed a quarter strong, this time to the tune of a 23-12 finish to the period, en route to a game-high 20-point lead at 91-71 after three.
That lead grew to 25 to begin the fourth. An Aaron Scott bucket off a feed from Williams lifted the Celtics ahead 100-75 with 9:30 to play. College Park wouldn't go away. Back-to-back Ndiaye threes brought the Skyhawks within 19 at 100-81 with 8:31 to go. Still on top by 19, 102-83, with 7:29 left, Harper Jr. sparked another run, this time to put the game away. The two-way player scored five of Maine's 10 points in a 10-0 burst to give the C's their largest lead of the afternoon at 112-83 with 5:48 remaining. The Skyhawks cut the deficit to 18 at 112-94, but it was all too little, too late in Maine's seventh straight win, 117-95.
The Celtics wrap up the two-game series with College Park in the Portland Expo tomorrow, Sunday, December 7, at 1 p.m.
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