Maine Celtics Stifle Stars for Third Straight Win
Published on January 8, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
PORTLAND, Maine. - Defense led the way for Maine as the Celtics stifled the Salt Lake City Stars 102-94 to win their third consecutive game.
The Celtics held the highest scoring team in the G League to under 100 points for the first time all season as Maine (4-4) gets back to .500 in the regular season. Salt Lake City slips to 4-2. Both teams will meet again at the Expo on Friday night.
Jalen Bridges led the Maine Celtics with 23 points on 8-15 shooting and five rebounds. Bridges poured in 17 points in the second quarter alone, connecting on 5-6 shots from three to power Maine to a 22-point lead over the Stars. Amari Williams posted a double-double for the fourth consecutive game with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kendall Brown added 17 points and five rebounds, and Hayden Gray provided 13 points and six assists off the bench for Maine. The Celtics shot 47% (39-83) from the floor and 36.7% (11-30) from three.
Max Abmas led the Stars with 21 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Cameron McGriff had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Sean East scored 18 points off the bench for the Stars. Salt Lake City shot just 45% (36-80) from the floor and the top three-point shooting team in the league was held to just 20% (6-30) from beyond the arc.
Ron Harper Jr. missed the last two games with a back injury. He was a game-time decision on Thursday and scored first for the Celtics on Maine's first possession. With 9:14 to go in the first quarter, Harper buried a triple to give Maine an early 11-2 lead over the Stars. The Two-Way player would finish Thursday's game with 11 points and four assists in 27 minutes. Salt Lake City's Sean East scored in the lane to cap a 13-4 run and tie the game at 15 at the 4:57 mark. John Tonje scored on the next possession to cap a 15-4 run and give Salt Lake City their first lead of the game, 17-15. Maine was just 1-8 from three and Salt Lake City was 0-6 from distance as the Celtics and Stars were tied at 21 after the opening frame.
Kendall Brown scored Maine's first four points of the second quarter to give the Celtics a 25-21 lead. The shooting picked up for Maine, who shot six for six to start the quarter and led 34-27 with 8:40 to go in the first half. After the Stars pulled back within one, Amari Williams jumped the passing lane and scored to cap a 10-2 Maine run and give the Celtics their largest lead of the half, 45-35. After a media timeout, Harper knocked down a three to extend the Celtics' lead to 13. After a slow start in the first quarter, Jalen Bridges caught fire. Bridges went 6-6 from the floor and 5-5 from beyond the arc to rack up 17 points in the second quarter alone and give Maine a 59-37 lead with 3:17 to go in the first half. Bridges didn't miss until the final second of the quarter as Maine led the Stars 61-45 at halftime. Led by 21 first half points by Bridges, Maine shot 52.1% (25-4) from the floor and 47.4% (9-19) from three. McGriff led the Stars with 11 points as Salt Lake City shot 48.6% (18-37) from the floor and just 15.4% (2-13) from beyond the arc.
Salt Lake City outscored Maine 9-4 to start the third quarter and a basket by Steven Crowl pulled the Stars within 11 at the 8:50 mark. Maine scored five straight points out of the timeout and a Max Shulga step back three gave the Celtics a 70-54 lead with 7:41 remaining in the third. Salt Lake City continued to stick around, and East banked in a nine-foot jumper to pull within six. Williams answered with a personal 5-0 run to put Maine back in front by 11 with 3:00 min left in the third. Williams found Pedro Bradshaw around the cup to extend Maine's lead again, 79-64 with 1:34 remaining in the quarter. Max Abmas scored 11 points in the quarter to lead the Stars, but the Celtics carried a 79-66 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Hayden Gray became the fifth Celtic to score in double figures when he connected from distance to give Maine a 84-70 lead with nine minutes left in the game. Shulga showed off the euro step, and Maine claimed a 92-77 lead with less than six minutes to go. The Stars continued to linger and a catch and shoot three by Max Klesmit cut the Celtics lead down to eight again with 3:58 to play. Abmas scored from distance on the next offensive possession to chisel Maine's lead down to just five points. Maine found an answer with back-to-back dunks from Kendall Brown as the Celtics extended their lead to nine with 1:49 remaining. Maine made their free throws down the stretch and held off the Stars to earn their third consecutive win, 102-94.
The Salt Lake City Stars were without Two-Way players Elijah Harkless and Oscar Tshiebwe for Thursday's matchup. Harkless was recently named the NBA G League Player of the Month for December after he averaged 28.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 29.3 minutes per game. Maine was without Keon Johnson.
The Celtics and Stars will clash again at the Portland Expo on Friday night at 7 p.m.
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