Maine Celtics Run out of Gas in Iowa
Published on February 7, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
DES MOINES, Iowa. - Max Shulga scored a career-high 35 points, but the Iowa Wolves came back in the second half to steal a win from the Celtics, 123-120.
Maine (11-10) led by as many as 12, but Iowa shot a blistering 64.5% (20-31) from three-point ragne to erase that deficit and hand the Celtics their second consecutive loss. The Wolves outrebounded Maine 47-35 and improved to 13-7 in the regular season.
Shulga led the Celtics with 35 points on 13-19 shooting, including 6-11 from beyond the arc to go with five rebounds, 9 assists, and five steals. Jalen Bridges racked up 24 points on 9-18 shooting, Hayden Gray recorded another double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, and Hank Morgan provided 16 points off the bench on 6-9 shooting (4-5 from three) in just his second game as a Maine Celtics. Maine shot 47.4% (45-95) from the floor and 42.2% (19-45) from three.
For the second consecutive night, Maine's opponent had four players score 20 points or more. Jules Bernard led the Wolves with a 30-point, 13 rebound, 13 assist triple-double. Donte Ingram added 27 points on 11-16 shooting, Jalen Crutcher posted 24 points and five rebounds, and Noah Eastern added 21 off the Wolves' bench. Iowa shot 51.9% (42-81) from the floor as a team.
Maine controlled the game early, and a jump shot from the free throw line by Jalen Bridges gave Maine a 13-7 advantage at the 7:08 mark of the opening quarter. Iowa's Martez Brown scored with 2:23 left in the first to give the Wolves their first lead of the game. Hayden Gray drove the length of the floor and knocked down a pull-up jumper as the buzzer sounded to give Maine a 32-28 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Jalen Bridges caught fire in the second half to help Maine build a double-digit lead. Bridges knocked down a pair of threes and scored eight consecutive points to give Maine a 46-37 lead with 10:05 to go in the second quarter. With 6:26 left in the first half, Max Shulga danced through the lane and kicked it out to Hank Morgan, who made Maine's tenth three-pointer of the first half to give the Celtics a 53-43 lead. Another three by Bridges extended Maine's lead to 11 with 3:40 remaining as Bridges scored 11 in the quarter. A left-handed layup by Shulga put the Celtics up by 12 with 43.2 seconds left in the first half. The Celtics shot 52% (26-50) from the floor in the first half and 50% from three (12-24) to lead Iowa 72-63 at the break. Donte Ingram led the Wolves with 17 first half points.
Iowa started the third quarter on an 11-2 run to pull within two of the Celtics, 76-74 with 8:52 on the clock. With 7:12 to play in the quarter, it was Bridges delivering the answer again for Maine. Bridges knocked down a three to extend the lead back to nine. Shulga would connect on a triple soon after as Maine claimed an 86-74 advantage. The Wolves would cut the Celtics' lead down to three, but Shulga's nine third quarter points helped Maine maintain a 99-92 lead at the end of the quarter.
Iowa outscored Maine 18-5 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to claim their first lead in the second half. Ingram dialed up a three to pull Iowa within one. Then Ingram went coast to coast to score at the rim and gave Iowa their first lead of the second half, 101-101 with 8:35 remaining. Ingram seemingly couldn't miss in the final frame, scoring 10 points on 4-5 shooting in less than six minutes to help Iowa take a 110-104 lead with 6:44 to go in the game. The Celtics answered with a 6-0 run and a Shulga three tied the game at 110. Trailing by three, Shulga stepped back and hit his fifth triple of the game to tie the game again at 117 with 1:55 remaining. Iowa's Jalen Crutcher and Jules Bernard would each dial up a three on the next two Wolves possessions as Iowa matched their largest lead of the night, 123-117 with under a minute left to play. Trailing by three, Kameron Warrens' shot in the final seconds that fell short as the Celtics lost to the Wolves, 123-120.
Maine returns home to the Portland Expo for two games against the Motor City Cruise on February 11 and February 12.
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