G League Maine Celtics

Maine Celtics Sweep Oklahoma City Series to Improve to 2-0

Published on December 29, 2023 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release


OKLAHOMA CITY - The Maine Celtics played solid defense in the first half and got clutch scoring down the stretch to take down the Oklahoma City Blue Friday night, 114-103. Maine heads home for Sunday's New Year's Eve matinee with a pair of big road wins.

Maine (2-0) was led by Boston Celtics assignee Jordan Walsh, who finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Drew Peterson hit crucial threes down the stretch to finish with 18 points, while fellow Two-Way Player JD Davison added 17 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals. DJ Steward paced the bench scoring with 17 points of his own, while Rob Edwards added 10 points off the bench.

Oklahoma City (0-2) was led by Ousmane Dieng with 25 points. Jahmi'us Ramsey added 23 points off the bench, while KJ Williams recorded a 15 point-15 rebound double-double.

The Blue started the game off with 5 quick points. Peterson answered with a triple of his own. Schakel buried a three to give Maine an early 8-7 lead. Keyontae Johnson's three-point play put Oklahoma City up 5. Jahmi'us Ramsey threw down a windmill dunk to give the Blue a 21-12 advantage, but Tony Snell's four-point play stopped the OKC run. Steward scored back-to-back buckets, and Davison's steal and jam helped Maine keep pace. Still, Ousmane Dieng's 10 points carried the Blue and Oklahoma City held a 31-28 lead after one quarter of play.

In the 2nd, Maine went on an 8-0 run to open the period. Walsh's three-point play gave Maine a 32-31 lead. Davison found Peterson for a triple. The run extended to 13-2 to open the 2nd. Rob Edwards' steal and slam put the Celtics up 15. Kylor Kelley hit an and-one to make it 56-38. But the Blue would go on a run of their own, scoring 7 straight late in the period, but when the dust settled Maine outscored the Blue 33-19 in the 2nd to take a 61-50 halftime lead. Maine shot 47.8% (22-46) from the floor. Neither team shot well from deep in the first half - Maine went 5-22; Oklahoma City shot 5-20.

The second half opened up with back-and-forth scoring. Walsh's driving reverse lay-up extended the Maine lead to 68-56. Davison then went on a run, scoring 10 straight points for the Celtics, capped by a driving bucket plus the foul. Miller Kopp's corner three would cut the OKC deficit to 4, but Steward followed that up with a runner to stop the run. The Celtics would take an 86-80 lead into the 4th quarter.

In the 4th, both teams traded buckets, with Maine holding on to a 6-point lead. Walsh hit a difficult three late in the shot clock to give the Celtics a 94-85 lead. Steward's driving bucket plus the foul put Maine up 99-87. The Blue would respond - K.J. Williams' lay-up cut it to 7 points. Peterson and Davison buried back-to-back threes to stop the run and push the lead back to 12 at 105-93. Peterson drained yet another three to put the game away for good.

Maine finished the game shooting 44.7% (42-94) from the floor, 26.7% (12-45) from three-point range, and 13-18 from the free throw line. Oklahoma City shot 41.1% (37-90) from the field, 27.8% (10-36) from downtown, and 11-17 from the charity stripe.

Maine faces Grand Rapids on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. at the Portland Expo.

Check out the Maine Celtics Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



NBA G League Stories from December 29, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central