Maine Celtics Fall Short in Grand Rapids
February 24, 2022 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Grand Rapids, MI - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, were severely short-handed, and nearly got a 4th consecutive triple-double from Chris Clemons, but ultimately fell to the Grand Rapids Gold Thursday night, 129-118.
Maine (8-8) was led by Clemons, who finished with 37 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists in the loss. Deonte Burton added 22 points for the Celtics, and Asante Gist led the bench with 16 points. Deng Adel and Eric Demers each scored 14 in the losing cause.
Grand Rapids (10-9) was led by Isaiah Thomas with 33 points and 7 assists. Petr Cornelie recorded a monster double-double, with 31 points and 19 boards. Nik Stauskas added 23 points in the win, while Manny Camper notched a 10 point-10 rebound double-double.
Thomas started the game on fire, scoring 8 straight points on 3-3 shooting. Clemons helped right the ship offensively, assisting on a lay-up and scoring one of his own. The teams would trade buckets, with Grand Rapids maintaining a 15-10 lead halfway through the period. Deng Adel hit a quick three to cut the deficit to two. Petr Cornelie dropped in a pair of threes to put the Gold up 31-23. Burton finished the period with 11 points, but Cornelie had 13 and Thomas 12 to give Grand Rapids a 38-32 lead after 1. The Gold shot 64% (14-22) from the field in the first quarter, including 7-11 from three.
Clemons kept the pressure on in the 2nd quarter, blocking a shot on one end and making a three on the other. Stauskas and Cornelie stayed hot, but Clemons tried his best to keep Maine in the game. Clemons big slam gave him 16 points and cut the deficit to 5. Adel's jumper made it 58-55. While the Gold's "Big Three" poured it on, Clemons led all scorers with 20 points on 8-12 shooting and 7 assists at the half. Still, Grand Rapids led at halftime, 64-59. Burton finished with 15 in the half, while Stauskas (19 points), Thomas (16 points) and Cornelie (13 points) led Grand Rapids. The Gold shot 52% (24-46) from the floor in the first half, while Maine shot just under 50% (22-45).
In the 3rd, Grand Rapids continued to find ways to score inside. Cornelie helped extend the lead to 12 as the Gold led 75-63. Marcus Burk's three made it a 15 point game. Quade Green's second chance three made it 87-67. Maine struggled to score in the 3rd quarter, until Clemons finally broke through with a pair of buckets. Asante Gist dropped in back-to-back three-pointers, but Maine trailed 96-80 after three. Maine was out-scored 32-21 in the period, shooting just 6-20 in the quarter.
The Celtics had a mountain to overcome in the 4th quarter, and Clemons tried his hardest to do so, scoring, assisting and rebounding to try and get Maine back into the game. It almost worked, as Clemons' free throws late in the period cut it to 8 points. Maine was unable to overcome the deficit despite out-scoring Grand Rapids 38-33 in the 4th. Maine finished the game shooting 47% (40-85) from the floor, 35% (16-46) from three-point range, and 13-15 from the free throw line. Grand Rapids shot 49% (47-95) from the field, 38% (14-37) from downtown, and 14-20 from the charity stripe.
Maine next heads to Windy City for a pair of games against the Bulls this Saturday and Sunday.
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