Celtics Shoot Past Swarm 116-93 at Portland Expo

PORTLAND, Maine. - Maine played one of their best games of the season as the Celtics beat first place Greensboro 116-93 on Saturday afternoon.

The Celtics (5-6) snapped a three-game losing streak with a complete team win that saw five players score in double figures, including three 20-point performers for the first time this season. Greensboro lost their second straight and falls to 8-3.

Maine posted one of their best shooting nights from three of the season, connecting on 17-34 (50%) from beyond the arc and 47.7% overall on the afternoon. Fresh off a career-high 46 point performance against College Park, JD Davison picked up where he left off on Saturday, leading Maine with 27 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Donald Carey Jr. and Anton Watson both posted career performances in scoring. Watson, a Two-Way Player, finished with a career-high 25 points on on 9-14 shooting (5-9 from three) to go with seven rebounds. Carey Jr. continued his strong week with a career-best 23 points on 9-14 shooting and six rebounds.

The Celtics also saw key contributions from Eric Gaines, who scored a career-high 10 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Tristan Enaruna posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double to go with four steals. Kavion Pippen also scored nine points in his first start of the season.

Greensboro was led by 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists from Keyontae Johnson. Jaylen Sims added 17 and Reggie Perry scored 13 for the Swarm in the loss.

After a back and forth first five minutes, Greensboro went on a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter to lead the Celtics by nine. While the Swarm shot 50% from the floor in the first, Maine went over five minutes without scoring during that stretch before a three-pointer by Carey Jr. stopped the drought with 2:32 to play in the quarter. The Celtics ramped up the pressure on defense and trailed by just three, 27-24 after the first.

The young duo of Gaines and London Johnson provided a spark for Maine start the second quarter. The first-year Celtics were flying around the floor on defense, trapping Greensboro's guards and forcing turnovers. Maine began the quarter on a 14-0 run, capped off by a thunderous dunk in the open court by the high-flying Gaines.

Carey Jr. matched his career-high of 17 points in the first half alone and Davison added 15 as Maine led by as many as 11 in the second quarter. 13 first half points by Johnson helped Greensboro pull within four, 58-54 entering the break.

An 11-2 Celtics run to start the third quarter helped Maine extend their lead to 17, their largest of the game. Watson connected on 3-5 shots from deep for nine points in the quarter to pace his career night. But despite outscoring the Swarm 28-22 in the third, Greensboro finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to set up the fourth quarter with Maine holding on to an 86-78 advantage.

Maine set the tone for the rest of the game in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on both sides of the floor. Davison denied two shots, including a chase down block with 6:42 to play, and Enaruna posturized a Greensboro defender as the lead grew to 20 with under six minutes to go in the game. Seven Celtics would bury a three-pointer in the game as Maine dominated the fourth quarter 30-15 and earned a key 116-93 victory over Greensboro.

Maine played without several key contributors. Starting center Dmytro Skapintsev missed his first game of the season with an elbow injury. Jay Scrubb (knee) and Ron Harper, Jr. (ankle) also did not play on Saturday against Greensboro. Two-Way Player Drew Peterson was also not with Maine for Saturday's game. (With Boston). The Swarm played without their three, Two-Way Players in Isaiah Wong, Moussa Diabate, and K.J. Simpson, who were all with Charlotte. RaeQuan Battle was also out for the Swarm (foot).

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Anton Watson was the Player of the Game after scoring a new career-high 25 points and connected on 5-9 of his shots from deep. Watson also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded one assist, one block, and one steal.

THE ROAD AHEAD: Maine returns to the Portland Expo for another NBA G League Tip-off Tournament game against Greensboro on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Portland Expo. The game will broadcast live on the Roku Sports Channel and on NBC Sports Boston.