Windy City Bulls Hammer Celtics
March 19, 2023 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL - The Maine Celtics just couldn't get going offensively as they suffered a 114-93 loss to the Windy City Bulls that put the two teams in a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Denzel Valentine led Maine (17-13) with 20 points and seven rebounds. Two-Way big Mfiondu Kabengele added 18 points and 14 rebounds and Luka Šamanić tallied 12 points and nine rebounds. Tony Snell and A.J. Reeves each scored nine points. Kamar Baldwin and Scottie Lindsey both had seven points.
Chicago Bulls assignee Dalen Terry led Windy City (17-13) with 25 points and eight rebounds. Two-Way forward Terry Taylor finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Marko Simonović turned in 13 points and 11 rebounds and Carlik Jones registered 16 points and six assists, both on assignment from Chicago. Henri Drell totaled 10 points and Ethan Thompson had nine.
Windy City got out to a 4-0 lead on their first two possessions before Snell, the longtime Chicago Bull, got Maine on the board with a catch-and-shoot triple. The Celtics took a brief lead, but the Bulls responded with an 8-0 run to go up 12-5. Valentine, another longtime Bull, got himself going with a three from the left wing that tied the game at 12 as part of a 9-0 Celtics run. Windy City went right back in front on a put-back from Taylor as the Bulls scored 12 points in the paint in the first 10 minutes. Valentine and Terry traded threes in the final 30 seconds of the first and the Bulls took a 31-23 lead into the second.
Reeves' mid-range jumper opened the second for Maine, as Terry kept his hot streak going with an early triple for Windy City. The Bulls went up by a dozen by the nine-minute mark as the Celtics went over three minutes without a field goal, unable to create many easy looks in halfcourt settings. A 16-4 run put the Bulls' lead north of 15 points, and it wasn't long before it built beyond 20 points. Maine cut the deficit to 19 points, 59-40 after closing the half on a 6-2 run, but only just 31.3 percent from the floor and 24 percent from deep in the first two quarters.
It was more of the same for Maine's offense to start the third, though the energy levels never dipped, and players kept working for open looks and hitting some tough shots to keep things running. Down 72-55 halfway through the third, Kabengele had already logged a double-double and Valentine was at 17 and seven rebounds while Terry had a game-high 23 for Windy City. Six Bulls were scoring in double-figures by the end of the third as they held an 83-65 lead.
Things got a little bit chippy early in the fourth as the Celtics fought to stay in the game and the Bulls were trying to put the pedal to the metal with playoff seeding on the line. Windy City led by 20 through a decent chunk of the fourth, but the Celtics kept fighting, launching from three to try and build a late run. Both teams emptied the benches with about five minutes remaining, and the Bulls cruised to a crucial late-season victory.
Maine and Windy City will wrap up a two-game set on March 21 before the Celtics return home to finish the regular season against the Westchester Knicks on March 23.
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