Maine Celtics Clinch Fourth Straight Playoff Berth
G League Maine Celtics

Maine Celtics Clinch Fourth Straight Playoff Berth

Published on March 24, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release


PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Celtics used 38 assists to lead to 130 points Tuesday night in a 130-105 win over Cleveland, clinching a spot in the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google.

The win improves Maine to 18-18 to end the regular season as the Celtics clinch a postseason spot for the fourth consecutive season. Cleveland finishes the year 22-12.

With 21 points apiece, Kendall Brown and Keon Johnson led the way for the Maine offense that had seven different scorers in double figures and 11 different scorers overall. John Tonje scored 16 points, Jalen Bridges 15 and Hason Ward posted 10. Amari Williams scored 13 points to go along with nine rebounds off the bench, and Max Shulga scored 12 in relief as well. Hayden Gray dished out a team-high 11 assists along with eight points. Maine shot 59% (49-83) from the floor and 48.5% (16-33) from three in the win.

Tristan Enaruna led the Charge with a game-best 26 points in the defeat. Zeke Mayo scored 24 points off the bench for Cleveland, while Malaki Branham with 16, Sy Chatman with 11 and Jaxson Robinson with 10 all finished in double figures. The Charge shot 42.2% (38-90) from the floor in the loss and 29.2% (14-48) from beyond the arc.

Tonje got Maine off to a good start. He began the night 3-3 from beyond the arc, and with 6:57 to go in the first quarter, his triple put the Celtics up 16-10. With 5:03 to go in the first, a Chatman bucket cut the C's lead down to one at 18-17. From there, Maine scored the next six points, and with 2:48 to go in the quarter, a Ward finish at the rim lifted the Celtics on top 24-18. Ward shot 3-4 from the field in the first quater including a bucket in the final minute that put the C's on top 28-22 after one.

To begin the second, Maine extended its lead. A Williams block on one end led to a Bridges three on the other to make it 33-24 with 9:59 to go in the half, forcing a Cleveland timeout. That triple was part of a 19-6 run to begin the second, and with 7:09 left, a Tonje three-point play put the C's up 19, 43-24. With 3:21 to go in the first half, a Johnson free throw gave Maine its first 20-point lead of the night at 56-35. Overall, Maine won the second quarter 42-21 and turned 12 Charge turnovers into 19 points to take a 70-43 lead into the half. Tonje paced Maine with a game-high 16 points in the first half. Brown scored 12 behind 5-7 shooting from the field, and Johnson poured in 11 off the bench. The Celtics shot 56.5% (26-46) from the floor in the first half and 45% (9-20) from three. Enaruna led Cleveland with 13 first-half points, the only Charge in double-figures in the opening 24 minutes. Cleveland shot 38.6% (17-44) from the field and 24% (6-25) from three.

Cleveland came out charging to begin the second half. The Charge scored the first eight points of the third, and with 9:50 to go in the quarter, a Branham basket cut the Maine lead down to 70-51. But the Celtics had a response. Bridges threes on back-to-back possessions lifted the C's back up by 24, 81-57, with 7:38 to play in the third. The Charge would not go away. Cleveland came back with a 9-0 run of their own, trimming the deficit to 15, 81-66 with 5:40 left in the quarter. Maine made sure the Charge did not get any closer. The C's counted with an 18-6 burst to open the advantage back up to 99-72 with 1:47 left in the third. Maine closed the quarter on a 22-11 spurt to lead 103-77 after three.

Maine took a 30-point lead for the first time to begin the fourth. With 5:10 to go, a Hayden Gray steal led to a Brown dunk to lift the Celtics on top 118-87. The C's never looked back from there. Aaron Scott scored eight points in three minutes, connecting on his first three shots of the game to put Maine up 128-100 with 1:49 left. And the C's would put the finishing touches on in the 130-105 win

Maine will be either the 7-seed or 8-seed in the NBA G-League postseason and will begin its playoff run on the road next week. Date, time and opponent for the quarterfinal round are all TBD.

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NBA G League Stories from March 24, 2026


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