Williams, Brown Lead Maine to Win over Long Island
Published on March 19, 2026 under NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Seven Celtics scored in double figures as Maine earned a key 114-104 win over the Long Island Nets in their final road game of the regular season on Thursday night.
The Celtics entered the night in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Maine improves to 16-18 with the victory over the Nets, who slip to 18-14. Long Island was without all three of their Two-Way players on Thursday. Maine saw the return of Max Shulga and Amari Williams, who were on assignment from Boston.
Williams led Maine with 20 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Kendall Brown also scored 20 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting from the floor. Hason Ward posted another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and John Tonje added 14 points for the Celtics. Maine shot just 45.6% (36-79) from the floor but outrebounded the Nets 52-33 and the Celtics made 23-24 (95.8%) of their free throws on Thursday night.
Seven Nets players also scored in double digits, with D'Andre Davis and Javon Freeman-Liberty each scoring 17 for Long Island. Terry Roberts posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. The Nets shot just 45% (41-91) from the floor and 30.8% from three.
With 9:13 to go in the first quarter, John Tonje buried a three to put Maine in front, 9-4. Kendall Brown threw down an emphatic dunk to keep Maine in front by five, 13-8 with 7:02 left in the opening quarter. A three by Jalen Bridges extended the Celtics lead to ten with under two minutes to go as Maine led Long Island 28-20 after the first quarter.
Long Island came out on a run early in the second quarter. D'Andre Davis powered to the paint and scored to pull the Nets within two, 28-26. With 9:30 to go in the quarter, Hayden Gray led the break for the Celtics and threw it off the backboard for a soaring Hason Ward. The slam by Ward extended the Celtics' lead back up to eight. It was all Maine for the rest of the quarter. With 2:41 remaining in the half, Amari Williams spun to his left hand and scored to cap a 17-0 Celtics run as Maine's lead ballooned to 51-35 over the Nets. With just ten seconds remaining, Williams putback gave Maine their largest lead of the first half; 58-41 headed into the break. Williams and Brown each had 12 points on a combined 9-10 shooting in the first half to lead Maine. The Celtics had 15 assists on 20 made field goals as Maine shot 51% from the floor.
The Nets started the second half on an 8-2 run, forcing a quick timeout by the Celtics as their lead shrunk to 11. David Muoka scored from short distance to pull Long Island within eight, 62-54 with 8:56 to go in the third quarter. Long Island pulled within four of the Celtics multiple times in the quarter, but Maine used second chance opportunities to keep the Nets at bay. Hank Morgan's putback with two minutes left in the third gave Maine a 76-67 lead. Maine would maintain that nine-point advantage to start the fourth quarter, 80-71 over Long Island.
Gray continued to be the catalyst for the Celtics offense in the fourth. Gray dished out his ninth assist of the game to Brown for three as Maine led again by double digits, 93-82 with 8:32 left in the game. Brown buried another triple a minute later to extend Maine's lead to 12 with seven minutes to go. With 4:32 remaining, Scott got a three to bounce in as the Nets pulled within six once again. The closest Long Island would get was five, but Williams drove through the lane and threw down a monster dunk to put the finishing touches on the game as Maine left Long Island with a crucial 114-104 win.
Maine returns home to the Portland Expo for their final two games of the regular season against the Cleveland Charge, with the first matchup slated for Sunday at 12 p.m.
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