Magic Stop Celtics

PORTLAND, ME – The Maine Celtics dropped their third-straight game after a 7-0 start, falling to the Lakeland Magic, 117-111.

Two-Way guard JD Davison led Maine (7-3) with 20 points, five rebounds and 11 assists. Kamar Baldwin dropped 23 points and grabbed four rebounds. Two-Way big Mfiondu Kabengele put up 17 points, nine boards and four blocks. Marvin Smith Jr. had 14 points and six rebounds. Marial Shayok totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. AJ Reeves scored nine points and Reggie Kissoonlal added eight, each in the first start of their G League careers.

Orlando Two-Way guard Kevon Harris led Lakeland (8-3) with a game-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds. Aleem Ford chipped in 19 and seven rebounds and Jay Scrubb finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Orlando assignee Caleb Houstan posted 15 points and five rebounds. Zavier Simpson logged 13 points, five boards and seven assists.

Ford got the night started with a 1-for-2 for Lakeland, and Kissoonlal splashed home a triple to put Maine on the board moments later. The Celtics would hit each of their first three shots, but the efficient shooting trailed off until the final frame after that. Maine led 12-9 at the first break, but a quick 4-0 Magic run out of the timeout gave them their first lead of the night. A closely contested first swung towards Maine after Reeves and Davison hit back-to-back threes before Harris’ 1-for-2 in the final seconds edged Lakeland over the Celtics, 27-26 after one.

The game slowed down after the first and while the Magic found success working the ball into the paint in the halfcourt, the Celtics struggled to find scoring opportunities consistently. Still, the game remained close throughout the second as both teams shot well under 40 percent from the floor. Davison’s putback and Smith’s three gave Maine a brief lead, 46-45, but the Magic quickly got it back on a Houstan free throw. In a rare occurrence, Maine was heavily outrebounded on the night; the absence of Luka Šamanić was felt across the board in the first half as Maine went into the locker room down 57-52 and shooting 38.8 percent from the field.

Baldwin sank a free throw line pull-up after two scoreless minutes to open the second half for Maine as the Magic built a 10-point lead, 65-55 by the eight-minute mark thanks to Ford’s six offensive boards to that point. A couple of unforced turnovers let the Magic get ahead even further, but the Celtics got back on track with a 12-0 run that got them within one, 73-72. Maine’s Two-Ways and Smith provided a jolt for the offense during the third-quarter comeback. The Celtics fell behind by as much as 14, but went into the fourth down just three, 84-81.

Davison began getting into the paint and scoring at will as the night wore on, but the Celtics offense as a whole couldn’t keep up with the Magic in crunch time. Lakeland stretched the lead back out beyond double digits early in the fourth before Maine responded. Baldwin canned a pair from deep to cut the deficit to six, 103-98 with 4:15 to play but a 7-0 run from Lakeland nixed the Celtics’ comeback hopes. Maine kept the pressure on and fought to the final buzzer, but a late three from Harris put the nail in the coffin and Lakeland handed the Celtics their third-straight loss, 117-111.