Maine Celtics Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Grand Rapids
February 4, 2022 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, made a late charge that ultimately came up short against the Grand Rapids Gold, losing 116-108.
Brodric Thomas led Maine with 26 points on 6-7 from beyond the arc. Jaysean Paige registered 24 points and three rebounds. Chris Clemons finished with 18 points, six assists and three steals. Sam Hauser posted 13 points and six rebounds. Deonte Burton put up 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. Denzel Valentine had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Matt Ryan's 25 points on 6-8 from downtown paced Grand Rapids. Nik Stauskas scored 20 points, adding five rebounds and five assists. Trevon Duval and Kenneth Faried each had 15 points, while Marcus Burk and Manny Camper each had 11. Former Celtic Quade Green turned in seven points, five rebounds and 14 assists.
Valentine buried a three on Maine's first possession, and Camper did the same to put Grand Rapids on the board soon after. Valentine found Thomas flying down the lane for a tomahawk dunk. The Celtics got out to a 10-3 lead, with the G League leaders in assists per game using precise ball movement to produce offense in the early-going. Hauser hit from distance to put Maine up a dozen, but the Gold would proceed to go on a 13-0 run, paced by Green off the bench, to close the opening quarter with a 19-18 lead.
A pair of triples from Clemons and 10 quick points from Paige powered Maine back ahead. The Green-Faried pick-and-roll duo created lots of good opportunities for Grand Rapids, who hung tough in spite of Maine shooting well from long-range out of the gates. After a back-and-forth ending to the second, the Celtics outscored the Gold by one in the quarter, sending them into the locker room tied, 47-47. Maine shot 17-41 (41.5 percent) from the field, 9-22 (40.9 percent) from downtown and 2-2 (100 percent) at the line. Grand Rapids shot 20-43 (46.5 percent) from the field, 6-19 (31.6 percent) from downtown and 1-2 (50 percent) at the line.
The second half got underway with a deep Thomas three. Tarik Black was injured early in the third, but he would later return. Maine's offense struggled to score throughout the quarter as Ryan and Stauskas found their range, and Georgi Bezhanishvili's tip-in forced a Celtics timeout. Grand Rapids briefly deployed a zone defense to disrupt the Celtics' flow, helping them to a 79-62 lead after three.
The Gold held the momentum to open the fourth, but some timely scoring from Hauser and Paige cut Maine's deficit to 14, 89-75. Paige and Duval took turns rocking the rim in the middle of the fourth, with Paige and Thomas supplying the energy for the Celtics as they made a game out of it down the stretch. Maine got within eight in the final minute, but Grand Rapids made enough free throws to close it out. The Celtics finished 40-85 (47.1 percent) from the field, 16-42 (38.1 percent) from deep and 6-10 (60 percent) at the line. The Gold finished 44-83 (53 percent) from the field, 14-36 (38.9 percent) from deep and 14-20 (70 percent) at the line.
The Maine Celtics are back in action versus Grand Rapids on Feb. 6 before taking on the Wisconsin Herd at The Expo on Feb. 10.
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