Nets Drop Celtics in OT
December 16, 2021 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, struggled to score and got some late magic, but eventually fell to the Long Island Nets, 97-95 in overtime.
Maine (9-2) was led by Celtics Two-Way Player Brodric Thomas 25 points and 8 rebounds. Fellow Two-Way Player Sam Hauser added 15 points off the bench, while Chris Clemons added 13 points, while Theo Pinson added 12.
Long Island (4-7) was led by Josh Gray with 24 points, and Brandon Rachal with 22 points, both off the bench. Bryce Brown added 16 points in the win.
Luke Kornet started the game with an and-one dunk. Thomas followed that up with a corner three, and the Celtics were off and running. Thomas was one of the lone bright spots offensively for either team, scoring 8 points in the opening period. RaiQuan Gray's offensive board and putback kept the Nets in the game. It was a slow start for both teams, combining for 16-for-49 shooting. Long Island led 19-18 after one period of play.
In the 2nd, the Nets responded to a Kornet dunk with a Marcus Zegarowski three. Sam Hauser stopped the run with a three of his own. The Nets called a quick timeout after a Kornet triple put Maine up 26-25. Jaysean Paige provided a spark off the bench - his pull-up jumper increased the Celtics lead to 3. Hauser caught fire in the 2nd, scoring 12 points. Former Maine Red Claw Bryce Brown did what he does best, shoot threes at the Portland Expo. Brown went 3-7 from downtown in the first half, and Brandon Rachal's lay-up off a steal gave Long Island a 47-45 lead. In the end, the Nets led 49-47 at the half. Long Island shot 40% (20-50) from the field, and just 5-17 from three-point range. Maine shot 46.5% (20-43) thanks to a strong second quarter, but just 6-19 from beyond the arc.
Thomas opened the scoring in the second half with a reverse lay-up to tie the game. Thomas went on a personal 7-0 run - his three-ball put Maine up five and forced an early timeout by the Nets. Long Island responded with 5 quick points to tie the game at 54. Chris Clemons and Theo Pinson got Maine back in the game with back-to-back threes. Clemons buried a three in the final seconds to tie the game at 68 after three quarters of play.
In the 4th, Both Maine and Long Island traded buckets early. Jaysean Paige's stop and start lay-in put the Celtics up by one, and Clemons' long two extended the lead to 78-75. Long Island answered with six straight points. Gray's lay-up put Long Island up 84-78 with 5:30 to go. Long Island continued to dominate on the offensive glass, maintaining a slight advantage. In the final seconds, Thomas drained a huge three to tie the game at 92. The game went to overtime. In OT, Gray's crucial bucket put Long Island up for good. Hauser hit a three at the buzzer but it was too later. Long Island out-scored Maine 5-3 in the extra period.
Maine shot 42.4% (36-85) from the field, 32.6% (15-46) from three-point range, and 5-8 from the free throw line. Long Island shot 37.9% (39-103) from the floor, 33.3% (12-36) from beyond the arc, and 4-11 from the charity stripe.
The same two teams will do battle tomorrow night at the Portland Expo. Tip-off is set for 7pm - tickets can be purchased by visiting MaineCeltics.com.
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