G League Maine Celtics

Maine Celtics Lose to Cruise, Split Back-To-Back

Published on March 11, 2022 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, hung tough until the final seconds but ultimately fell to the Motor City Cruise, 105-98.

Matt Ryan led Maine (10-13) with 26 points and five assists. Chris Clemons nearly totaled his fifth triple-double with 22 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and three steals. Luke Kornet finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Brodric Thomas had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks. Deonte Burton tallied 12 points. John Bohannon recorded eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Cheick Diallo put up 24 points and 15 rebounds for Motor City (17-7). Cassius Stanley registered 19 points and Derrick Walton Jr. had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Justin Turner scored 16 points and ShawnDre Jones turned in 11 points.

Clemons dumped off a pass to Thomas underneath the rim to open the scoring. Trayvon Palmer dropped in the first four points for Motor City. Ryan found Thomas for a three to give Maine an early 9-6 lead. The Celtics forced three turnovers by the midway point of the first quarter, maintaining a two-possession lead as Ryan and Clemons each connected with Kornet for a lob. The teams traded buckets momentarily, but an 11-0 run to close the quarter put the Cruise ahead 26-24 after 12 minutes.

The Cruise continued their run into the second quarter, scoring 20 unanswered points before Clemons halted the run with a 1-for-2 free throw to make it 35-26 in favor of Motor City. The Celtics kept pace with the Cruise early in the second as Walton Jr. controlled the pace and captained the Motor City offense. Both teams' shooters cooled down a bit as the physicality ramped up until Ryan buried two threes to make himself a perfect 4-4 in the half, cutting Maine's deficit to two. Stanley and Walton powered the Cruise attack to keep them in front by a small margin until Clemons' layup tied it at 51 just before the halftime buzzer. The Celtics shot 20-45 (44.4 percent) from the floor, 5-15 (33.3 percent) from downtown and 3-4 (75 percent) from the line in the first half. The Cruise shot 19-44 (43.2 percent) from the floor, 4-13 (30.8 percent) from downtown and 5-6 (83.3 percent) from the line.

Bohannon tallied the first points of the second half, but the Cruise followed up with a 7-0 run. Burton collected a loose ball, passed it off to Clemons, and hustled down the floor for a thunderous dunk that energized the Celtics before Motor City got a couple of buckets back. Maine again kept pace while hovering around a double-digit deficit. Marcus Derrickson made his Celtics debut mid-third, recording his first points off of a dish from Kornet to make it 70-63, Cruise. Anthony Tarke charged the lane on back-to-back possessions, drawing a foul each time to extend Motor City's lead back over 10 points. Thomas' buzzer-beating heave from 32 feet made it 75-68 after three.

Bohannon again opened the scoring in the quarter, this time with a big dunk following an offensive rebound. Clemons' first three of the game put Maine ahead, but Jones' pair of jumpers and Turner's five-footer put Motor City back on top, 85-83 halfway through the fourth. The Cruise turned it around to pull ahead again before Kornet's right hook cut it to five. Thomas finished through contact but missed the and-one free throw that could've made it a one-possession game. Diallo's contested layup put the Cruise ahead 96-89 with just over a minute remaining. Maine had chances to cut into the lead, including a pair of triples from Burton and Clemons, but couldn't quite get within striking distance as the Cruise held on down the stretch. The Celtics finished 39-89 (43.8 percent) from the floor, 9-32 (28.1 percent) from distance and 7-12 (58.3 percent) from the line. The Cruise shot 36-80 (45 percent) from the floor, 6-25 (24 percent) from distance and 19-23 (82.6 percent) from the line.

The Maine Celtics travel to Wisconsin to face the Herd on March 13 before hosting the Lakeland Magic for a back-to-back on March 17-18.

Check out the Maine Celtics Statistics

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