Celtics comeback to beat Blue Coats, win fourth straight

PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Celtics erased a 23-point deficit and dished out a franchise record 43 assists on 50 made baskets Sunday afternoon, knocking off the Blue Coats 129-119 for their fourth consecutive win.

Ron Harper Jr. led the way for Maine with 26 points, shooting 50% (11-22) from the floor in the win. Kameron Warrens scored a career-high 22 points off the bench and knocked down a team-best five threes, going 5-8 from beyond the arc. Kendall Brown scored 18 points on an efficient 8-11 day from the field and led the Celtics with nine assists. Max Shulga chipped in 17 points and Aaron Scott added a career-high 16 in the victory. As a team, Maine shot 54% (50-92) from the floor and 45% (22-49) from three. The Celtics set a franchise record with 43 assists on the afternoon, assisting on all but seven of their 50 made shots. Led by Scott and Warrens, Maine's bench provided 53 points in the win. 

Delaware's Emoni Bates scored a game-high 36 points in nearly 38 minutes for on 13-23 shooting and 9-16 shooting from three. DeAndre Williams and Kennedy Chandler each scored 20 points for Delaware in the losing effort, while Malcolm Hill poured in 19. The Blue Coats shot an identical 45.9% from the floor and from three in the losing effort. 

The win is the Celtics' fourth straight as Maine improves to 4-3 in the NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament and to 4-0 at home this season. Delaware drops to 1-4 with the loss. 

After a loss on Friday night, Delaware got off to a good start on Sunday. Up 14-4, Saint Thomas got into the passing lane and passed to Chandler, whose layup put the Blue Coats on top 16-4 with 7:52 to go in the first quarter. The Celtics cut the deficit down to seven on a Warrens three with 5:37 to go in the first to make it 21-14. 12 points first quarter points from Bates and 60% (15-25) shooting from the floor and 50% (4-8) shooting from three, Delaware grew a lead as large as 17 at 39-22 and led 43-30 after the first. 

The Blue Coats picked up right where they left off to begin the second. Delaware scored on its first five offensive possessions of the quarter. Chandler's three-point play with 9:37 to go in the half made it a 15-5 run to start the second and a 58-35 game. The Celtics responded with a run of their own. An 11-0 spurt, capped off by an Aaron Scott three, cut the deficit to 58-46 with 7:46 to go in the half and forced a Delaware timeout. But the Maine run wasn’t done there. The Celtics outscored the Blue Coats 31-10 in the final 9:37 of the half and trailed just 68-66 at the break. Bates led all scorers at the half with 17 points and was one of four Delaware scorers in double-figures at the half. As a team, the Blue Coats shot 49% (25-51) from the field and 53% (8-15) from three. Harper Jr. paced the Celtics with 12 points in the first half as Maine went 52% (25-48) from the field and 41% (11-27) from distance. 

Maine did not slow down out of the halftime break. A three by Brown with just over a minute into the third gave the Celtics their first lead of the game at 72-71. With 9:21 to go in the quarter, a Harper Jr. basket upped the Maine edge to 79-73, causing a Delaware timeout. The Blue Coats cut the Maine lead down to 81-78 with 7:21 to go in the quarter on a Thomas bucket. The Celtics then sparked another run, this one 13-5, completed by another Harper Jr. score to make it 94-83 with 3:52 to go in the third and Delaware’s third timeout of the quarter. Maine took a 97-90 lead into the fourth, outscoring the Blue Coats 31-22 in the period. 

The Celtics grabbed a 12-point lead to begin the fourth. A Warrens three with 6:07 to play lifted Maine on top 115-103, matching its largest lead of the game. Delaware, however, would not go away. A Bates three, counting for three of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, cut the C’s lead down to seven at 121-114 with 2:47 to play. But that was the closest the Blue Coats would get. Another Warrens three put the Celtics up 129-114, a lead the C’s would not lose in a 129-119 win. 

Maine hits the road for two games in Westchester next weekend. Game one with the Knicks is set for Friday, November 28, at 7 p.m.