Motor City Cruises Past Maine
January 30, 2022 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
DETROIT, MI - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, dropped the last contest of their three-game road trip to the Motor City Cruise, 126-112 at Wayne State Fieldhouse.
Denzel Valentine scored a game-high 27 points on seven made three-pointers to go with nine rebounds and nine assists for Maine. Chris Clemons posted 25 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Deonte Burton recorded 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Kenny Wooten Jr. tallied 11 points, four rebounds and four blocks. John Bohannon turned in 12 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double and Jaysean Paige registered 11 points and four assists.
Cheick Diallo led Motor City with 25 points, 18 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Saben Lee finished with 20 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Cassius Stanley had 19 points and five rebounds. ShawnDre Jones put up 18 points and five assists. Deividas Sirvydis scored 16 points on 4-5 shooting from downtown.
Maine's first points came courtesy of a three-pointer from Valentine after Maine scrapped for two offensive rebounds on the possession. The Celtics got out to an early 13-0 lead behind two more threes from Valentine, but a platoon swap for the Cruise triggered an 11-0 run by their reserves. Clemons ended the run with a pull-up jumper from the left elbow. Wooten checked in after a seven-game absence, slammed home an and-one alley-oop and then skied near the top of the backboard for a block. Valentine turned in 11 points and Clemons had nine to lead Maine to a 27-19 advantage after one.
An 11-2 run to open the second quarter handed the Cruise a 30-29 lead. Burton drove hard to the rim, earning himself a couple of trips to the line. Cheick Diallo and the rest of the Cruise attacked the paint themselves, and Maine's defense allowed Motor City to build on their lead. Valentine's fourth three cut it to 43-39 before Wooten and Clemons finished consecutive layups in transition to tie the game. The game went back-and-forth as the first half wound to a close, and Maine capped it off with a buzzer-beating two from Clemons. Motor City led, 52-49 at the break and they shot 20-45 (44.4 percent) from the floor, 5-16 (31.6 percent) from downtown and 4-9 (44.4 percent) at the line in the half. Maine shot 19-47 (40.4 percent) from the floor, 6-22 (27.3 percent) from downtown and 3-4 (75 percent) at the line.
Chris Smith and Lee each hit from long-range as the second half got underway. Lee added a Euro-step lay-in to stretch Motor City's lead to nine early in the third. Maine chipped away slowly, with Clemons' playmaking and Valentine's shooting producing most of their offense. Diallo scored eight points in just over two minutes to give the Cruise a 70-60 lead, but Valentine's step-back 16-footer halted the run. The Cruise continued to find success attacking the basket, whether finishing or kicking out to shooters, and built up a 17-point lead by the end of the third, 91-74.
A missed dunk from the Celtics and an 8-0 Cruise run at the beginning of the fourth set the tone for the quarter. Wooten helped Maine to their own 8-0 run, but the Celtics had already dug more than a 20-point hole by then. Motor City cruised to victory with the score heavily in their favor for the entire quarter. The Celtics finished 43-96 (44.8 percent) from the floor, 11-38 (28.9 percent) from three and 12-19 (63.2 percent) at the stripe. The Cruise went 43-83 (51.8 percent) from the floor, 12-33 (36.4 percent) from three and 19-29 (65.5 percent) at the stripe.
The Maine Celtics will return to Portland for a five-game homestand at The Expo, beginning with a weekend series against the Grand Rapids Gold on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.
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