Celtics look to bounce back against Boom

PORTLAND, Maine. - Maine returns to the Portland Expo on Friday as the Celtics (1-4) look to bounce back in their second game this week against the Noblesville Boom.

On New Years Eve, Noblesville (3-2) rallied from a 19-point deficit to stun the Celtics and escape the Expo with a 123-122 victory. The victory was the first for the Indiana Pacers' G League affiliate since 2018. Maine had previously won five in a row against the Mad Ants, now named the Boom.

The Boom and Celtics will tip-off at 7 p.m. and the game will broadcast live on NBC Sports Boston and streamed live on NBAGLeague.com. You can also listen to the game on 96.3 The Big Jab.

The Maine Celtics never trailed through the first three quarters of the game, but the Boom outscored the Celtics 69-49 in the second half to steal the win and hand Maine just their second home loss of the season. Au'Diese Toney scored the game-winning basket with 13.4 seconds left to give the Boom their second consecutive victory. Maine has lost three straight and six of their last seven.

Ron Harper Jr. led Maine with 36 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Harper shot 13-22 from the floor, including a season-high 10-16 from three. Amari Williams recorded his second triple-double of the season, notching 12 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Max Shulga recorded a double-double with 21 points and 14 assists. Stefan Todorovic provided as season-high 22 points off the bench for Maine on 8-10 shooting. Maine shot 53.5% (46-86) from the floor and 40.5% (15-37) from three. Maine dished out 34 assists on 46 total made field goals and outrebounded the Boom 44-37.

In order for the Celtics to earn a split with Noblesville, they'll have to find a better way to contain Kyle Guy. Guy scored a season-high 39 points to go with 14 assists.  M.J. Iraldi provided 24 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Boom. Cameron Hildreth scored 18 points to go with seven boards and Toney had 18 points and seven rebounds. Despite a slow shooting start, Noblesville finished the game shooting 52.3% (46-88) from the floor and 46.2% (12-26) from beyond the arc. The Boom capitalized on 22 Maine turnovers for 28 points. After playing just eight guys on Wednesday, Noblesville will get some reinforcements with the addition of NBA veteran Cody Martin, who signed with the Boom on Thursday. Martin has played in 263 NBA games.

Friday night's game is the second of a five-game homestand for the Maine Celtics. After taking on the Boom, Maine quickly returns to the Expo on Saturday to face the Capital City Go-Go at 7 p.m.