GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Maine's Matchup with the Mad Ants

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana. - The Maine Celtics travel to take on the Indiana Mad Ants in an early matinee game at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Celtics are coming off an impressive 103-90 win over the Birmingham Squadron that saw JD Davison drop 40 points, six assists and six steals. Maine is 4-2 to start the regular season. Maine is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference and Indiana is seventh.

Baylor Scheierman has also been electric for the Celtics since the new season began. Scheierman has scored 20 points or more in the last four games, and has made 20 shots from deep during that span. Maine will be playing without Ron Harper Jr. for the first time this season after Harper Jr. became the 22nd  player in franchise history to earn a GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA, and the first since Luka Šamanić in the 2022-23 season. Harper Jr. agreed to a Two-Way Player contract with the Detroit Pistons.

After starting the regular season 3-0, Indiana has lost their last two games in a row to fall to 3-2. The Mad Ants most recently suffered a loss to the Capital City Go-Go on Saturday, January 4. Indiana's Two-Way Players are RayJ Dennis, Enrique Freeman, and Quenton Jackson. 2024 Indiana Pacers draft pick Johnny Furphy has been assigned by the Pacers to the Mad Ants ahead of Tuesday's game. This will be Furphy's first game with the Mad Ants after spending the first part of the season with the Pacers where he averaged 2.6 PPG and 1.3 RPG.

The Mad Ants have been one of the G League's most prolific offenses since the start of the regular season. Indiana is first in points per game with 122.8 and first in three point percentage (42.4%). They're second in field goal percentage and second in offensive rating. That said, Maine has been a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball. The Celtics are third in the G League in defensive rating during the regular season (103.1) and have held their opponent under 100 points for two consecutive games.

WHERE TO WATCH: Tuesday's game will have an early tip-off of 12:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+.

INJURY REPORT: Dmytro Skapintsev (OUT) - Injury/Illness, Donald Carey Jr. (OUT) - Injury/Illness, Eric Gaines (OUT) - Injury/Illness, Jordan Schakel (OUT) - Injury/Illness