Red Claws' Rally Falls Just Short
Published on January 31, 2015 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - January 31, 2015 - The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, set a new team record with 22 made three pointers and Boston Celtics rookie James Young tying the individual record with nine threes, saw a valiant comeback bid fall just short on Saturday night at the Portland Expo Building where they fell to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, 109-104.
Maine trailed by 23 going into the fourth quarter, and at one point cut it to three before Andre Emmett put the game away for the Mad Ants. Young finished with 33 points, 9-13 from downtown.
Fort Wayne (18-12) jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before Young sandwiched two of his record nine three pointers around a transition basket to cut the Red Claws (18-9) deficit to 9-8. The Mad Ants would then put the game on cruise control with a 17-2 run midway through the quarter that made it 26-10. Omari Johnson knocked down a three pointer on back to back possessions, but the Fort Wayne ran out to a 38-21 first quarter lead.
Young came out firing in the second quarter, scoring eight of the first 10 Red Claws points, but the Mad Ants' defense cooled him off as C.J. Fair came off the bench to pace the attack with nine of his own in the quarter as the Mad Ants cruised to a 64-44 halftime advantage.
Johnson came out of the locker room fired up for the Red Claws, pouring in 11 in the third quarter to go along with five from Andre Dawkins, also on assignment from the Boston Celtics. Fort Wayne's guard combo of Andre Emmett (seven) and Gary Talton (six) paced the Mad Ants in the frame as the visitors took an 85-63 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Maine, having trailed since the opening tip-off, didn't go quietly into the night, as the Celtics tandem of Young and Dawkins found their three point stroke, each converting a pair from behind the arc around a Johnson layup. Young continued the hot shooting with a coast to coast layup and a pair of three pointers, the second tying the Red Claws record for made threes. Dawkins would break the record soon after. Young tied the individual record with the final three of the night with 1:38 to go, but Emmett's nine points down the stretch were enough to hold Maine at bay to secure the wire-to-wire victory for Fort Wayne.
The Mad Ants were led by Emmett (32 points, seven rebounds, four assists). Talton (18), Will Sheehey (15 points, five rebounds), Fair (13 points, seven rebounds) and Chris Porter (10 points, six rebounds) round out the Fort Wayne players in double figures.
For Maine, Young led all scorers with 33, including 9 of 13 shooting from beyond the arc, while adding six rebounds. Johnson tied a career high with 26 points and added 10 rebounds. Dawkins (17) and Tim Frazier (10 points, 16 assists, six rebounds) rounded out the top contributors for the Red Claws.
The Red Claws are back in action on Thursday, February 5th when they host the Iowa Energy at 7:00pm. The Mad Ants are off until next Saturday, when they host the Erie BayHawks at 7:30pm.
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