Celtics Cruise To Showcase Sweep
By Maine Celtics Staff /December 23, 2024
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ORLANDO, FL – The Maine Celtics jumped out to an early lead and controlled the entire game, taking down the Motor City Cruise 121-104 Sunday night at the NBA G League Winter Showcase. Maine (8-8) completed a two-game sweep of their Showcase games, concluding the Tip-Off Tournament portion of the season. After tonight, all standings will be reset to 0-0 for the 34-game Regular Season starting on Dec. 27.
Boston Celtics assignee Baylor Scheierman led all scorers with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ron Harper, Jr. added 19 points off the bench to continue his strong play at the Showcase. Two-Way Player JD Davison added 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Dmytro Skapintsev finished with 14 points on 6-6 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Anton Watson scored 12 points, while Drew Peterson and Hason Ward each scored 10 in the win.
Motor City (7-9) was led by former Boston Celtics guard Lamar Stevens, who finished with 21 points. Alondes Williams added 20 points in the loss.
Maine jumped out to a hot start in the first quarter. As the teams traded baskets, Davison nailed back-to-back three-pointers to put the Celtics on top. A Harper three followed by a Tristan Enaruna bucket gave Maine a 31-24 advantage after one. In the 2nd, Motor City showed some signs of life – that was quickly snuffed out by Harper’s consecutive triples. Maine went on a 13-2 run, capped off by a Harper hoop plus the foul. Still, the Cruise got back into the game – A Stevens dunk put Motor City up 54-53. Watson’s layup followed by two points from Scheierman got Maine back on top at the break, taking a 60-57 lead into the locker room.
Maine would never relinquish the lead again. Scheierman buried a pair of threes. Jordan Schakel hit a late triple to extend the lead, and Ward’s dunk gave Maine a 91-84 lead after three periods. In the 4th, Maine went on a 10-2 run capped by a Davison alley-oop to Skapintsev. That forced a Motor City timeout and the Celtics cruised to victory from there.
Maine shot 47.9% (45-94) from the floor and 31.9% (15-47) from three-point range, while going 10-11 from the free throw line. Motor City shot just 41.6% (32-77) from the field, and 24% (6-25) from beyond the arc, while going 20-23 from the charity stripe.
The Celtics return to action with a pair of road games to open the Regular Season on Dec. 27 and 29 at Grand Rapids and Motor City, respectively. Maine returns home for its annual New Year’s Eve matinee at 12pm vs. Texas on Dec. 31.
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