Swarm Sting Celtics in Weekend Opener
Published on January 23, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
PORTLAND, MAINE - Greensboro took a 12-9 lead just over six minutes in and didn't trail the rest of the way in a 122-112 win over Maine in the series opener Friday night.
The Swarm improve to 10-3 in the regular season with the win and hand the Celtics just their third home loss of the year. Maine falls to 8-6 in the regular season with the defeat.
Jayden Sims scored a game-high 23 points for the Swarm on 8-13 shooting from the floor. PJ Hall collected 14 of his 18 points in the second half and finished with a double-double, notching a game-best 13 rebounds. Marcus Garrett with 20 points, Liam McNeeley with 19, Eric Dixon with 15 and Keyonte Johnson with 10 all also finished in double figures for Greensboro. As a team, the Swarm shot 54% (47-87) from the floor and 44.4% (12-27) from three.
Max Shulga led the way with 21 points for Maine in a losing effort, while Hasson Ward matched a career-high with 18 points to go with eight rebounds. Pedro Bradshaw collected 16 points off the bench for the Celtics. Tosan Evbuomwan posted 15 points and Jalen Bridges poured in 14. Maine shot it 29.4% (10-34) from three and 43.4% (43-99) from the field in the loss, one in which Greensboro won every quarter.
Maine began the night attacking the rim. The Celtics scored their first eight points in the paint, and after a Shulga free throw capped off a three-point play, the C's grabbed a 9-6 lead with 7:27 to go in the first quarter. That's when Jaylen Sims got going. Sims began the night 5-5 from the floor and scored 13 of Greensboro's first 17 points. His bucket with 4:52 left in the first put the Swarm on top 17-11. Greensboro never trailed again. They extended the lead to nine at 28-19 with 1:07 to go in the quarter before six straight Bridges points cut it to 28-25. A McNeeley basket in the final seconds of the quarter put the Swarm back ahead by five at 32-27, the score at the end of the first.
Greensboro added to the lead to begin the second. The Swarm finished the first 5-6 from three and with 8:19 to go in the second, Johnson connected on Greensboro's seventh triple of the game to extend the advantage to 46-33. But Maine had a response. An 8-0 run capped off by a Kameron Warren s three lowered the deficit to 46-41 with 6:35 to go in the half. Greensboro, however, stayed hot from beyond the arc. Six different Swarm hit a three-pointer in the first half, while four hit more than one. As a team, they shot 64.7% (11-17) from distance in the first half, while Maine shot only 15.4% (2-13). A Dixon three in the final second of the half made it 68-52 Swarm, the score at the break. Sims led the way from Greensboro with 15 points at the break, while Garrett chipped in 14 and Dixon 11. Bridges and Evbuomwan paced Maine with 10 points each in the first half, while the Celtics as a team shot 38.5% (20-52) from the field.
The Celtics chipped away at the start second half. Maine outscored Greensboro 18-11 to begin the third, and a Ward dunk with 6:37 to go in the quarter made it 79-70, forcing a Swarm timeout. Greensboro got the lead back up to 14 at 93-79 on a Terrell Brown Jr. basket with 2:43 to go in the third. But Maine went to the fourth with some momentum. Another Ward dunk followed by a Bradshaw three with 12 seconds to go in the quarter trimmed the Swarm advantage to 97-88 after three.
To begin the fourth, a Shulga three cut the deficit down to six at 103-97 with 9:12 to go, the lowest the Swarm lead had been in the second half. After scoring seven points in the first half, Shulga scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half. With 4:07 to go, he lowered the Greensboro lead to 112-107 on his third triple of the night. But that was the closest the Celtics would get. Leading by eight in the final minute, a Sims dunk put the game away and lifted the Swarm to a 122-112 win.
Maine continues its five-game homestand with a rematch against the Swarm Sunday. Tipoff inside the Expo is set for noon.
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