Maine Celtics Fall At NBA G League Winter Showcase

Maine celtics fall at nba g league winter showcase

ORLANDO – JD Davison surpassed Tim Frazier as the Maine franchise’s all-time assist leader but the Maine Celtics turned the ball over 32 times and allowed the Austin Spurs to shoot 68.4 percent in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 121-116 loss at the NBA G League Winter Showcase. 

DJ Steward turned in career-highs of 34 points, seven made 3-pointers and five steals, along with seven rebounds and four assists to lead Maine. JD Davison added 22 points, five rebounds and 10 assists while Drew Peterson logged 21 points on 8-11 from the field. Jordan Walsh tallied 17 points and Kylor Kelley had 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks. 

Blake Wesley led Austin with 26 points and three steals. Sidy Cissoko chipped in 20 points and four steals and David Duke Jr. registered 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Raiquan Gray scored 18 points and Javante McCoy finished with 11 points and four assists. 

After a rough start that saw four turnovers in the first five possessions of the game, Duke and Steward traded threes to break the ice just ahead of the 10-minute mark. Maine would turn the ball over six times in the first five minutes and saw Walsh exit the game with an injury, but still held a 9-7 lead at the first timeout. Taylor Funk hit a rare 1-for-3 to put the Celtics up 14-9, with 3-point attempts generating most of the offense for both sides early on. Davison became the franchise’s all-time assists leader with his third dime of the afternoon, giving him 463 and counting. Each side traded buckets to end the first and Celtics emerged with a 25-24 lead. 

A 9-4 run to open the second quarter gave Maine a 34-28 advantage, as Peterson paced the offense with 9 points on a perfect 3-3 shooting. Austin went on a 13-2 run to push themselves right back in front, getting out in the open court and forcing Maine to adjust to its up-tempo style. The Celtics fired back with a 9-2 run, slowing the pace down a bit as Davison began to heat up; he finished the quarter with 12 points on 5-7 from the field in less than 10 minutes. Wesley hit a layup just before the buzzer sounded to trim Maine’s lead to three, 53-50 at the break. The Celtics and Spurs combined for 26 turnovers in the first half. 

Austin’s defense came out in a zone to open the third quarter, and Steward promptly busted it with his fourth triple of the day. Walsh, returning from injury after sitting most of the first half, nailed a corner three and finished a layup through contact to give Maine a nine-point lead on a quick 8-2 run. The Spurs responded with a 12-3 run to get back within one before the Celtics took control once again. Steward made his sixth three and Davison reached his per-game average of eight assists by the halfway point of the third, and then Peterson’s third triple capped off a 15-0 run for the Celtics. The Spurs were able to chip away with the help of Wesley’s downhill finishing to end the frame, getting within 11, 92-81 through three. 

The Spurs heavily outscored the Celtics in the early portion of the third, with a Cissoko three pulling Austin within single digits. A 14-0 stretch from got the Spurs right back in the game, refusing to go away quietly. Cissoko nailed his second 3-pointer of the quarter to tie it at 101, and his third gave Austin its first lead of the second half a few minutes later, 111-108. Walsh answered back with a triple on the next possession, and the game stayed tied at 111 for a few trips before Wesley split a pair at the line inside two minutes. Duke then split a pair at the line himself before cutting for an easy layup on the next trip to give the Spurs a 115-112 edge with less than a minute left. Steward nailed two clutch free throws and Peterson drove for a layup inside the final minute, but Austin countered every Celtics bucket and Cissoko sealed it by stealing Maine’s inbounds pass with 5.7 seconds to go, handing the Spurs a narrow victory. 

Maine rounds out its trip to the Winter Showcase in Orlando with a matchup against the Salt Lake City Stars tomorrow at 8:30 PM. Following the conclusion of the Showcase tournament, team records across the league will reset prior to the beginning of the G League regular season next week. The Celtics’ first regular season matchup is on the road against the Oklahoma City Blue on Dec. 27.