Knicks best Celtics 117-110, split weekend series

PORTLAND, Maine. - Westchester used a 16-0 third quarter run to take an 17-point lead it would never trail again as Maine fell 117-110 to the Knicks on Sunday afternoon.

The win snaps the Knicks' three-game losing streak and improves Westchester to 6-12 in the regular season. Maine finishes its five-game homestand 2-3 and falls to 10-8 with the loss. 

Bryson Warren led Westchester with 28 points, all in the final three quarters, after going scoreless in the first. Dink Pate scored 26 on 9-12 shooting from the floor, 4-6 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds. Isaiah Roby chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Knicks while Trey Jemison III (12), Toby Okani (10) and Nick Jourdain (10) all scored in double figures. Westchester shot 50% (40-80) from the field and connected on 17 thress shooting 41.5% (17-41) from beyond the arc. 

Ron Harper Jr. scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds to lead the Celtics in a losing effort. It's the sixth game this season that Harper has scored 30 points or more. Kendall Brown shot 9-11 from the floor and added 20 points in just under 25 minutes. Hayden Gray drilled four threes off the bench and had 16 points to go with a team-best +16. Tosan Evbuomwan also finished in double figures with 13. As a team, Maine went 41.7% (40-96) from the floor and 36.6% (15-41) from three. 

Maine began the afternoon just 2-10 from the field, and with 7:58 to go in the opening quarter, an Okani three put Westchester on top 10-4. A Harper Jr. triple with 6:01 to go in the first brought Maine back within a point at 12-11 before a Hason Ward put-back with 1:06 to go in the quarter gave the Celtics their first lead at 23-21. After a Roby basket tied the game for the Knicks at 23-23, a Brown dunk in the final seconds of the period gave the C’s a 25-23 lead after one.

After shooting 1-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, an Evbuomwan three to begin the second gave Maine a 28-23 lead. Then the Knicks sparked a 10-3 run, and with 8:06 to go in the half, a Jourdain free throw put Westchester back ahead 33-31. A Gray three put the Celtics back on top at 34-33 before a Brown basket extended the lead to five at 40-35 with 5:23 to go in the quarter. A quick 10-4 Westchester spurt, capped off by an Okani three, leapfrogged the Knicks back ahead 45-44 with 2:45 to play in the second. A Pate bucket in the final minute of the half grew the Westchester lead to 52-47, the score at the break. In a half that featured eight lead changes and five ties, Pate led all scorers with 12 points on 5-7 shooting. Okani and Warren both chipped in 10 for Westchester. The Knicks shot 40.4% (19-47) from the floor in the half and 31.8% (7-22) from three. Harper Jr. and Brown paced the Celtics with 10 first half points. Maine shot 40.8% (20-49) from the field and 27.8% (5-18) from three. 

Pate picked up right where he left off in the second half. His two baskets gave the Knicks their largest lead of the day at 58-50 under 90 seconds into the third. Pate scored 12 of his 26 points in the third on 4-4 shooting. The Celtics went on a run from there. A Harper Jr. three with 8:49 to go in the quarter finished off seven straight Maine points and cut the deficit to 58-57. After a Westchester timeout stopped the momentum, the Knicks scored the next 16 points. A Warren bucket with 5:47 left in the third made it a game-high 17-point lead at 74-57. From there, the C’s started to get the momentum back. Maine scored the next 10 points and, with 3:12 to go in the quarter, cut it to a 74-67 game. The Knicks got the lead back up to 11, but a Kameron Warren's three-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter made it 84-76 after three. 

Across the first 2:56 of the fourth, Westchester outsourced Maine 12-6, and with 9:04 to play, the Knicks lead was back up to 14 at 96-82. The Westchester advantage stayed at 14 at 100-86 with 7:30 to go before a 10-0 run finished off with back-to-back Gray threes brought the C’s back within four, 100-96, with 3:42 to play. But the Knicks again had a response. Two straight Warren threes put Westchester back up by 10 again 106-96 with 2:58 to go. A pair of Harper Jr. threes in the final minute got Maine within four, but that was the closest the C’s would get. Two Roby free throws put the game away in a 117-110 Knicks win. 

On Sunday, Maine wore special uniforms highlighting Maine's role in developing players, coaches and staff at every level of the Celtics organization with the theme, "The Road to Boston Begins in Maine."

Up next, the Celtics begin a three-game road trip in Sioux Falls Wednesday night, February 4, at 7:30. Maine returns to the Expo next for a two-game series against the Motor City Cruise, with game one set for Wednesday, February 11, at 7 p.m.