Red Claws Eliminated from Playoffs
April 11, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME- The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, saw their playoff hopes come to an end Saturday afternoon at the Portland Expo, falling to the defending champions the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, 121-111. Fort Wayne's 121 points are the most the Red Claws have ever given up in the playoffs.
Maine (0-2 in Playoffs) started strong, with Boston Celtics assignee Chris Babb burying a three, Ralph Sampson and Davion Berry each scoring inside and Celtics assignee James Young converting to give the Red Claws a 9-5 lead. CJ Fair would convert two free throws and Ramon Harris an inside shot to tie the game at nine. The teams traded baskets until the 6:06 mark, when Matt Bouldin hit a three to give the Mad Ants (2-0 in playoffs) a lead they would not relinquish. Bouldin would go on to score 11 in the quarter as Fort Wayne raced out to the 33-26 edge after 1.
Romero Osby would do his part to try to keep the Red Claws in the game, scoring16 in the quarter on 6 of 7 shooting. Jordan Crawford had 11 in the frame and Fair would add six for Fort Wayne as the Red Claws went into the locker room trailing 60-54.
Fort Wayne charged out of the locker room in the third quarter, building the lead up to 16 as Fair took over, pouring in 17 in the period while Crawford and Bouldin each added six to account for all 29 Mad Ants' points in the quarter. The Red Claws got eight from Babb and seven from Berry. Andre Stringer would score the final two baskets of the quarter to cut the lead to 10, with Fort Wayne holding an 89-79 advantage heading into the final frame.
Maine didn't go quietly. Osby went on a stretch where he scored 13 of 15 points to cut the lead to nine, and Young followed with a three to cut it to six. A few defensive stops later and Berry and Osby cut the lead down to two with 2:26 to go. Crawford took over for the Mad Ants, however, draining a three on the next play, stealing the ball and getting it to Fair for a layup and sealing it down the stretch with a Bouldin layup and two free throws along with a pair of free throws from Xavier Thames. Berry and Babb scored on the final two Red Claws possessions, but it wasn't enough to overcome the defending champions.
Crawford led all scorers with 36, adding five assists and three steals. Fair (31 points, 11 rebounds, two steals), Bouldin (23 points, six rebounds, two steals) and Thames (10) led the Mad Ants offensive attack.
The Red Claws got a new playoff high 33 points from Osby, who added seven rebounds to his tally. Berry (23 points, seven rebounds, four assists), Babb (16 points, six assists, six rebounds, two steals), Young (11 points, eight rebounds), and Ralph Sampson (10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) led the team in scoring. Omari Johnson (eight points, seven rebounds) set a new team playoff high with five blocked shots.
With the loss, the Red Claws season came to an end. The Mad Ants await the winner of the Sioux Falls SkyForce and Canton Charge. Canton leads the series 1-0 as that series shifts to Canton on Monday night.
NBA G League Stories from April 11, 2015
- Suns Sign Jerel McNeal - Bakersfield Jam
- Red Claws Eliminated from Playoffs - Maine Celtics
- Austin Spurs Top Bakersfield Jam, Forcing Game Three - Austin Spurs
- Jam Lose Game 2 to Spurs - Bakersfield Jam
- Spurs Assign Kyle Anderson to Austin Spurs - G League
- Spurs Assign Kyle Anderson to Austin Spurs - Austin Spurs
- Warriors Sweep Opening Round Playoff Series, Advance to Western - Santa Cruz Warriors
- Season Comes To A Close In Loss To Santa Cruz - Oklahoma City Blue
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.
