Red Claws Fall to Knicks
January 31, 2020 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, struggled in the second half and fell at home Friday night, 116-106 at the hands of the Westchester Knicks.
Maine (20-8) was led by Trey Davis, who finished with 30 points off the bench. Jaysean Paige added 16 points, while Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters scored 12 points each. Yante Maten finished with 11 points in the loss.
Westchester (15-15) played only eight players, and all eight scored double-digits, led by Ivan Rabb and V.J. King with 17 points each.
Both teams took 24 second shot clock violations to start the game, in honor of Kobe Bryant. Once game play began, the teams traded baskets, with Paige's driving lay-up putting Maine up 9-7. Andrew White and the Knicks were red hot to start the game, making 9 of their first 10 shots - Tyler Hall's three made it 21-9 Westchester. The Knicks run swelled to 16-0 before Wayne Blackshear stopped the bleeding. Maine went on an 8-0 run to get back into the game. A Tacko Fall block led to a Trey Davis bucket, and Maine trailed 32-27 after 1.
Tacko continued to affect the game in a positive way for Maine in the 2nd. His hook shot cut the deficit to 5. Yante Maten's three-point play tied the game at 40. Paige's three gave Maine the lead at 43-42. Paige continued to fill it up, and Fall's three-point play helped Maine go back and forth with Westchetser. Ivan Rabb and Amir Hinton paced the Knicks, who led 61-58 at halftime. Davis led Maine with 14 points at the break. Maine shot an impressive 60.5% (20-38) from the floor in the first half, while Westchester shot 55.3% (26-47).
Tim Bond and V.J. King opened the 3rd quarter with a pair of buckets, pushing Westchester's lead to 68-62. Paige and Davis stopped the run, scoring 5 quick points and cutting the deficit to 1. Tyler Hall's three pushed the Knicks lead back out to 6. Despite some Tacko rim-shattering dunks, the Claws still trailed 89-81. Tyler Hall's four-point play extended the Knicks lead to 9, and the Knicks led 94-85 after 3.
In the 4th, Hall hit a corner three to keep Westchester up 8. Davis answered with a three of his own. Sheldon Jeter's corner three cut it to 4 points. The Red Claws continued to hang around, finally knocking in some free throws. Tim Bond's bucket put Westchester up 111-100. The Red Claws could not make up enough ground.
Maine shot 47.1% (41-87) from the floor for the game, 29.7% (11-37) from three-point range, and 8-16 from the free throw line. Westchester shot 48.9% (44-90), 34.5% (10-29) from beyond the arc, and 9-15 from the charity stripe.
The Red Claws return to action tomorrow night against Greensboro at the Expo.
NBA G League Stories from January 31, 2020
- Shooting Woes Stall Suns in Texas - Northern Arizona Suns
- Strong Third Quarter Lifts Charge to Homestand Sweep - Cleveland Charge
- Red Claws Fall to Knicks - Maine Celtics
- Despite Doyle's Hot Shooting, Bulls Lose 123-105 - Windy City Bulls
- BayHawks Acquire Ike Anigbogu - Erie BayHawks
- Lakeland Magic Dedicate the Month of January to Youth Basketball by Sharing the Importance of Sport - Osceola Magic
- Skyhawks Knock off Wisconsin on the Road - College Park Skyhawks
- Red Claws Holding Autism Awareness Night Tonight - Maine Celtics
- College Park Snaps Wisconsin's Five-Game Win Streak with a 126-118 Road Victory - Wisconsin Herd
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.
