Game Preview: Celtics Seek Series Sweep Against Capital City

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics will look for their third consecutive win on Sunday afternoon when they welcome back the Capital City Go-Go to the Portland Expo.

Maine (3-2) is currently third in the East division standings of the G League Tip-Off Tournament after the Celtics beat the Go-Go 106-101 on Friday night. Capital City (4-3) currently stands in fifth after Friday's loss snapped a three game winning streak for the Go-Go. JD Davison was the player of the game for the fourth time this season after scoring a game-high 36 points to go with 11 assists. Davison is currently leading the G League in points per game (28.0) and in assists per game (10.6).

Fellow two-way player Drew Peterson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Baylor Scheierman tallied 17 points for Maine in Friday's win.

"I thought everyone stepped on the court today impacted the game in some way and in some fashion. I was happy with how the game ended and how we executed on both ends of the floor," Head Coach Tyler Lashbrook said after Friday's win.

In Friday's matchup, Maine trailed by as many as 18 in the first half in a game where the Celtics connected on just nine of 44 shots attempted from beyond the arc. Coach Lashbrook was excited about his team's ability to overcome adversity and find a way to get the win.

"This was a game where our shots weren't falling, but we fought, continued to battle, made it a close game and those numbers will turn for you at some point. It turned in the fourth," Lashbrook explained. "I thought it was a good response compared to our first game against Westchester where we didn't make shots and weren't in the game compared to this where we didn't make shots, but played really hard, did all the things to impact winning and stayed in it."

Capital City's backcourt gave Maine problems early on, as Justin Champagnie and Ruben Nembhard combined for 46 total points and ten assists. Fellow guard Erik Stevenson also provided a spark off the bench for the Go-Go and finished with 17 points, including 11 in the third quarter. Champagnie, one of the Go-Go's Two-Way Players will not play in Sunday's game due to injury. Capital City will also be without their other Two-Way Players in Tristan Vukcevic and Jared Butler.

Maine dominated the second and fourth quarters of the game, erasing double-digit deficits in both quarters by leaning on their defense. Maine outscored Capital City 36-21 in the second and 34-20 in the fourth quarter to earn the key victory. Davison scored 15 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter alone.

The key for the Celtics in their comeback was the turnover battle as Capital City turned the ball over 22 times for 22 Celtics points. Davison set the tone with his on-ball defense and the rest of the team followed suit. Maine stole the ball 13 times and blocked six Capital City shots as the tide swung in their favor in the final quarter. Another key contributor on defense was the G League's leading shot blocker, Hason Ward, who recorded three blocks and three steals. Maine is currently first in the G League in blocked shots per game and Capital City is first in turnovers per game.

"I thought when he amped up his ball pressure it changed on our defense. He was amazing tonight and that's two games in a row that he's been phenomenal on both ends," Lashbrook said.

The Celtics will look to avoid a slow start in Sunday's matchup. Maine scored just four points in the first six minutes of Friday night's game and 15 points overall in the first quarter. Despite the poor shooting night from the field, the Celtics did have more assists (22) than Capital City (17) and also found success in the paint, recording 54 points in the paint compared to 44 for the Go-Go. After winning consecutive games for the first time this season, Maine hopes to make it three in a row and continue to climb in the East division standings.

"I think you just got to know what their mindset is going to be. No team wants to come on the road and get swept. We have to start the game and get ready to fight from the first minute knowing those guys over there are going to watch film the same way that we watch it and will come out ready to go," Lashbrook said.

Davison will look to make some more history in the Maine Celtics' all-time record books. Davison has already set the all-time franchise records for points and assists, and now has his sights set on steals. Davison enters Sunday's game with 103 career steals, just five shy of Chris Wright's franchise record of 108. Davison had three steals in Friday's win over Capital City.

Friday night's game was the first of our "Amazing Maine" series, sponsored by L.L. Bean. For five games this season, the Celtics will wear special L.L. Bean inspired uniforms, and each night will focus on a different Maine State Park. On Friday night, we highlighted Mt. Blue State Park. 1,927 fans took part in our first "Amazing Maine" game on Friday.

Sunday's game is part of the NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament. Teams are placed into four regions and will play 14 games exclusively against each other. Maine is in the East Region alongside Capital City, College Park, Delaware, Greensboro, Long Island, Raptors 905, and Westchester. The teams with the best winning percentage in each region, along with the next four teams with the best winning percentage regardless of their region will advance to compete for the Championship at the NBA G League Winter Showcase. 

WHERE TO WATCH: Sunday's game will tip-off at 1 p.m. at the Portland Expo in the final home game in the month of November for the Celtics. The game will broadcast live on NBA TV and on tape-delay on NBC Sports Boston. Tickets are available here.