Celtics Fall In Season Opener

WASHINGTON, DC - The Maine Celtics led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, but a big night from Jules Bernard helped the Capital City Go-Go storm back and earn a season-opening victory, 137-127. 

Two-Way guard JD Davison paced Maine (0-1) with 23 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Boston assignee Jordan Walsh, making his pro debut, followed with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks on 4-9 shooting from three. DJ Steward added 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists and Jordan Schakel scored 16 points. Tony Snell had 14 and four boards while Kylor Kelley posted 12 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Taylor Funk had 10 points. 

Bernard scored a game-high 30 points for Capital City (1-0) to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Hamidou Diallo chipped in 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Capital City. Two-Way forward John Butler Jr. tallied 14 points and five rebounds and Devon Dotson logged 18 and five assists. DeJon Jarreau, Davion Mintz, and Michael Foster Jr. all turned in 11 points. 

Diallo drove down the left side of the lane and finished through contact for the and-one on the first possession of the game. Davison hit a mid-paint floater to get Maine on the board for the 2023-24 season, and Walsh and Snell got the Celtics going from deep with a pair of early threes. Maine started hot out of the gates, making three triples in the first five minutes as the pick-and-roll forced the Go-Go defense to collapse and leave shooters open for kick-out passes. Funk sank a couple threes early in his professional debut and Steward’s slashing put Maine up nine. Dotson’s heavily contested, buzzer-beating heave from 30 feet fell through to make it 34-28 in favor of the Celtics after one. 

Snell hit his second and third threes of the night and Walsh drove for a double-clutch layup as Maine opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to double digits. The Celtics started 8-14 from downtown and dominated on the glass at the outset, holding a 21-13 rebounding advantage midway through the quarter. Jaiden Delaire cleaned up a miss and put it back for his first professional points as Maine’s rookies made their presences felt early. It didn’t take too long for the Capital City to get going, though; Jarreau and Mintz each scored five-straight points to pull the Go-Go within seven. The Go-Go run built to 29-18 as they cut the deficit to three, 68-65, by halftime. Capital City scored 37 points and shot 4-7 from beyond the arc in the second quarter. 

Walsh connected with Nathan Knight for a lob to open the second half, but Maine lost the lead off a turnover just over two minutes into the third. After starting the game 8-14 from distance, Maine sat at 9-25 as four early-quarter turnovers compounded the shooting slump. Walsh continued to impact the game as a shooter and passer to help the Celtics get back within one before Bernard sank a pair of threes to stretch the Go-Go lead to seven. A couple of critical second-chance buckets from Maine kept it close and even regained them the lead, but Capital City climbed up to 50 percent from three after a slow start. Mintz capped off another 37-point quarter with his third triple as the Go-Go took a 102-96 lead into the final frame. 

An and-one from Dotson put Maine down double digits 41 seconds into the fourth. Brandon Slater banked home a three and then lined up a clean one from the right win to make it a five-point game, and Schakel drained one from the top of the key to get Maine within two, 113-11. The Celtics hung tough to keep it a one-possession game for parts of the fourth as the game slowed down a bit, putting a bigger emphasis on execution in halfcourt offense. Bernard’s driving layup put Capital City in front by seven, adding some distance back between the Go-Go and Celtics as a couple untimely fouls and turnovers hampered a young Maine in crunch time. 

From there, the Celtics responded with four unanswered to fight back within three, trailing 130-127 with 1:10 to go. Diallo went back to the well, driving hard to the rim for a massive bucket that put Capital City back up by two possessions in the final minute. It became a game of free throws after Maine’s last-ditch efforts came up a hair short, and the Go-Go closed it out to claim a 137-127 season-opening victory. 

The Celtics head back out on the road for a matchup with the Westchester Knicks on Sunday, Nov. 12 before returning to Portland for the Nov. 17 home opener. Tickets are on sale now and going fast – visit MaineCeltics.com to secure your seats today.