Celtics explode in 2nd, cruise to win

PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Celtics outscored the Knicks 37-15 in the second quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a 14-point lead and never looked back Friday night, kicking off their 17th season with a 123-94 win over Westchester. 

The Celtics begin the 2026-27 NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament 1-0; the Knicks start 0-1. 

Milos Uzan led Maine with a team-high 21 points and 11 assists. Chris Cenac Jr., on assignment from the Boston Celtics, also posted a double-double in his G League debut with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Devin Carter scored 16 points off the bench. Tucker DeVries scored 15, Dillon Mitchell scored 15 on 7-9 shooting, and Gabe McGlothan and Hayden Gray each scored 12, rounding out the seven C’s that finished in double figures. Gray was also a game-best +40 across nearly 34 minutes. Maine shot 50% (48-96) from the field, 37.5% (18-48) from the three and outscored the Knicks 113-71 after trailing by 13 points in the first quarter.

Dink Pate matched the game-high with 21 off the Westchester bench on 9-14 shooting and also paced the Knicks with nine rebounds. Tyler Nickel poured in 17 for Westchester while Jaden Akins with 16 and Igor Miličić with 11 both finished in double digits. The Knicks shot 41% (34-83) and 32.7% (16-49) from distance in the defeat. 

Miličić and Akins got Westchester off to a fast start. After Miličić scored seven points in the first four minutes, an Akins mid-range bucket, three-pointer and assist on an alley-oop Liam Robbins dunk put the Knicks up 17-4 with 6:57 to go in the opening quarter. The Celtics missed their first four threes of the night but hit their next three. With 4:49 to go in the quarter, a Caleb Grill triple cut the Knicks' lead to 23-13. Carter scored seven points off the Maine bench to close the quarter and cut the deficit to six, but a Nicholas Jourdain lay-in and the end of the first lifted Westchester ahead 32-24 after one. 

Maine started the second strong. A McGlothan three cut the deficit to six, and with 9:45 to go in the half, a Cenac layup made it 35-31, forcing a Knicks timeout. The Celtics took their first lead with 7:14 left in the second. A Cenac block led to a Gray three to jump Maine in front 38-37. The Celtics never trailed again. A Mitchell steal and dunk with 4:20 left in the half capped off a 25-2 run that spanned more than seven minutes and lifted Maine to a 51-37 lead. The C’s outscored the Knicks 37-15 in the second and took a 61-47 lead into halftime. Uzan led Maine with 12 first-half points, while Cenac posted 10, as did Mitchell on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor. The Celtics shot 50% (24-48)  in the half and 38.5% (10-26) from three. Pate and Akins paced the Knicks with 12 first-half points a piece. Westchester went 42.5% (17-40) from the field and 39.1% (9-23) from distance in the first half. 

The Celtics kept it rolling in the third. A Mitchell three with 7:49 to go in the quarter put Maine on top by 20 for the first time, 74-54. With 2:55 to go in the quarter, a Grill pass led to a McGlothan two-hand dunk to take the lead to 88-61. The C’s topped the Knicks 32-22 in the quarter and took a 93-69 lead into the fourth. 

To begin the fourth, Maine pushed the advantage to 30. With 8:01 to go, Grill’s third three of the game made it 103-73. Gray connected on a three to put the C’s up 32, their largest lead of the night, 109-77, with 4:35 left. The Celtics cruised the rest of the way, pulling away from West Chester, 123-94, in the opening-night victory. 

The season-opening series with Westchester concludes Sunday, November 8, with a 12:30 p.m. tip-off in the Expo.