Maine Celtics Fall in OT in Season Opener
G League Maine Celtics

Maine Celtics Fall in OT in Season Opener

Published on November 7, 2025 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release


GREENSBORO, N.C. - Maine lost its season opener in heartbreaking fashion, 131-129 to the Greensboro Swarm on Saturday. A pair of free throws by Greensboro's Marcus Garrett sealed the Swarm win in the Final Target Score overtime period.

Ron Harper Jr. and Wendell Moore Jr. each led Maine (0-1) with 28 points. 28 points is a new G League career-high for Moore Jr. Max Shulga filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Jalen Bridges and Kendall Brown each finished with 15 points, and Amari Williams added 14 points and 6 rebounds. As a team, Maine shot 48-98 (49%) from the field and 12-40 (30%) from three.

Maine logged 34 total fouls on Saturday, just one short of the franchise record. The Swarm (1-0) made them pay at the charity stripe, finishing the game 21-27 (77.8%) from the free throw line. Greensboro was led by 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists from Terrell Brown Jr. Antonio Reeves and Jaylen Sims each added 24 points for the Swarm. Tidjane Salaun recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Greensboro finished the game shooting 43-97 (44.3%) from the floor and 12-40 (30%) from three.

Greensboro's Salaun struck first on a corner triple as the Swarm jumped out to a 5-0 lead. After going scoreless for nearly two minutes, Maine earned their first points of the game on a bounce pass from Amari Williams to Kendall Brown for the slam. With 6:35 on the clock, Ron Harper Jr. found Hason Ward diving to the rim to give Maine their first lead of the quarter, 10-9. Harper Jr. led Maine on an 8-0 run and scored high off the glass to put the Celtics in front, 16-9 with 4:10 to play in the quarter. Keyontae Johnson cut the lead down to two for the Swarm at the 3:07 mark, but seven first quarter points by Wendell Moore Jr. helped Maine finish the first quarter on a 12-4 to lead Greensboro, 30-20. Harper Jr. led all scorers with eight first quarter points.

The Swarm started the second quarter on an 8-0 run, including back-to-back dunks by Isaih Moore and Antonio Reeves. Celtics Two-Way player Max Shulga stepped into his second triple of the game to stop the Swarm's run two minutes into the quarter. Kameron Warrens came off the bench and quickly scored five straight points, giving Maine a 39-31 lead with 8:07 remaining in the first half. The Swarm cut it to one at 49-48 after Reeves knocked down a high-arching three with 4:25 to play. Jalen Bridges had the answer the Celtics needed, connecting on back-to-back triples to extend Maine's lead back up to seven, 55-48. Maine finished the final 1:53 of the first half on an 8-2 run to lead the Swarm, 65-54 at halftime. Bridges, Harper Jr. and Moore Jr. all posted 13 first-half points for the Celtics. Maine shot 24-47 (51.5%) from the floor including 9-22 (40.9%) from three. Led by 12 points from Reeves, Greensboro was 18-45 (40%) and 5-19 (26.3%) from beyond the arc.

Greensboro quickly cut the lead down to five after starting the third quarter on a 6-0 run. An offensive rebound followed by a ferocious slam by Williams stopped the scoring drought at the 10:13 mark. Fellow Two-Way Harper Jr. knocked down a three on the next possession to put Maine back up by double-digits. With 7:46 left in the quarter, Harper Jr. scored on a 7-foot jump shot to give Maine their largest lead of the game, 78-65. The Swarm battled back again, and a three by Jaylen Sims capped off a 10-0 Greensboro run with 5:01 to go in the third to cut the deficit down to just three, 82-79. A fadeaway jump shot by Terrell Brown Jr. gave the Swarm their first lead of the second half with 2:30 to play in the third. The Swarm and Celtics went back and forth down the stretch as Maine carried a narrow, 99-97 advantage into the final quarter.

Seeking their first win of the season, Maine turned to its playmakers in the fourth quarter to get the job done. The Celtics continued to be a nuisance on defense, forcing another steal that would lead to a thunderous slam by Brown to make it 103-100 with 9:48 to go. At the 7:28 mark, Shulga bullied his way to the cup and scored through the contact to put Maine up by four. Brown Jr. continued to make big plays for Greensboro, and a triple with 4:28 remaining pulled the Swarm level with the Celtics at 115. Williams scored on back-to-back possessions to give Maine a 119-115 lead with under three minutes to play. Moore Jr. came up big with 1:45 to go, scoring over the Swarm defender, plus the foul to grow Maine's lead to five. Down three with 31.1 seconds to go, Reeves came up clutch for Greensboro. After an offensive rebound, Reeves buried a contested three-pointer in the left corner to tie the game at 124 with 15.7 seconds remaining. Maine couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer of regulation as the game went to overtime.

The G League plays an untimed, target score overtime, with the first team to score seven points winning. That set the target score for Saturday's contest at 131. A short jump shot by Harper Jr. put the Celtics in front by two. Salaun scored a contested jumper at the shot clock buzzer sounded to pull the Swarm level again. Down one after a Greensboro free throw, Shulga found Moore Jr. under the basket to regain the lead, 128-127. The Celtics creeped closer to the target score after Shulga split a trip to the free throw line. Out of a timeout, Johnson quickly scored for the Swarm to tie the game at 129. On the next possession, Maine turned the ball over and a pair of made free throws by Marcus Garrett won for Greensboro in overtime, 131-129.

Maine will face Greensboro again on Saturday at 6 PM.

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NBA G League Stories from November 7, 2025


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