Maine Stifled In 4th, Lose Big Lead At Long Island
By Maine Celtics Staff /January 11, 2024
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Uniondale, NY – The Maine Celtics led 80-57 with 5:00 to go in the 3rd quarter, but were out-scored 45-20 the rest of the way to fall to the Long Island Nets in improbable fashion, 102-100 Wednesday night.
Maine (2-4) started the game red-hot and led by as many as 24 points in the game. Everything seemed completely under control, but the Celtics went 7:30 without scoring a field goal to start the 4th quarter, only mustering 12 points in the final period. DJ Steward led all scorers with 24 points off the bench for Maine, while Drew Peterson just missed a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Jordan Walsh scored 18 points, while JD Davison finished with 13 points and 10 assists, recording his 14th double-double of the season. Jordan Schakel added 13 points in the loss.
Long Island (4-2) had six players finish in double figures. The Nets were led by Jalen Wilson with 18 points.
The Celtics and Nets traded early buckets, with Walsh getting hot early. His driving layup gave Maine a 9-6 lead, with Walsh scoring 7 of Maine’s points. Maine’s defense came out strong, forcing two shot clock violations in the early minutes. Peterson’s layup made it a 11-0 Celtics run and put Maine up 9. Davison fed Steward for a three to put Maine up 18-8. Clowney buried a three to stop the Celtics run, but Steward kept the pressure on from long distance – Maine’s lead swelled to 21 in the blink of an eye. Maine shot 15-25 from the floor in the 1st quarter, taking a 36-20 lead after 1. Steward scored 10 points in the opening period, with Davison racking up 7 assists.
In the 2nd, Walsh scored 5 straight points to extend Maine’s lead back over 20 points. Schakel buried his second three to make it 46-24 Celtics. It was Peterson’s turn to get hot in the 2nd, and Jordan Jackson’s fast-break dunk put Maine up 62-41. Jalen Wilson was the lone bright spot for the Nets in the first half, scoring 10 points. Maine took a 64-45 halftime lead. The Celtics shot 56.5% (26-46) from the floor in the first half with 19 assists, and out-rebounded Long Island 27-14. Walsh and Steward led the way with 14 first half points, with Walsh going 6-7 from the floor in the opening two quarters.
Maine opened the 3rd right where they left off, with Schakel burying another three and extending the lead to 24. Kennedy Chandler stopped the bleeding with a runner to cut it to 71-51. Davison kept the pressure on scoring three points the hard way with a driving lay-up plus the foul. Davison fed Steward for an alley-oop lay-up, giving Davison 10 assists. Kaiser Gates drained a three for Long Island, and Dariq Whitehead’s driving lay-up cut it to 18. Rob Edwards and Steward hit back-to-back threes to put the Celtics up 86-64. Terry Roberts hit a late three for the Nets to chip away, but Maine still led 88-72 after 3.
In the 4th, Long Island made it a game. The Nets opened the period scoring 5 consecutive points – suddenly, the lead was down to 11. Kameron Hankerson’s three made it 90-80. Gates’ corner three cut it to 7. Nearly halfway through the quarter, Long Island was out-scoring Maine 13-2 – Clowney’s free throw made it 90-85. Davison’s free throw points stopped the run, but the star point guard left the game with an injury at the 6:21 mark. Steward finally ended the drought with a mid-range jumper. Peterson followed that up with a triple. Wilson’s tough lay-up cut it to a three point game at 97-94. Clowney’s free throw made it a one point game. Terry Roberts buried a tough three to give Long Island the lead. Steward grabbed the lead back with a huge three with :32 to go. Clowney was fouled with :09.4 left, and calmly made both free throws to put Long Island up 101-100. Peterson missed a lay-up to tie the game, and Steward a three to win it, and the Nets escaped with an unbelievable victory.
Maine finished the game shooting 45.7% (37-81) from the field, 36.1% (13-36) from three-point range, and 7-8 from the free throw line. Long Island shot 43.8% (39-89) from the floor, 33.3% (11-33) from beyond the arc, and 8-12 from the charity stripe.
The Celtics return home for a pair of games against the Indiana Mad Ants this weekend. First up is a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Portland Expo.
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