Second half dooms Maine as Squadron sweep Celtics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Maine led by double digits early, but Hunter Dickinson and the Birmingham Squadron dominated the second half to beat the Celtics 122-106 on Tuesday night. 

Maine (15-18) led by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Squadron (14-19) outscored the Celtics 74-47 in the second half to sweep the two-game series. Dickinson became the first Birmingham player to record a 30+ point, 20+ rebound double-double, finishing the game with 34 points, 27 rebounds and seven assists. 27 rebounds are the most by a Maine opponent in franchise history. 

Kendall Brown led the Celtics with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. Keon Johnson added 20 points off the bench, and Jalen Bridges finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. John Tonje was also in double digits with 13 points and Aaron Scott and Hason Ward each added 10. Maine shot 44.9% (40-89) from the floor and 29.3% (12-41) from three. 

Including Dickinson's 34 points, Birmingham's Two-Way players accounted for 86 of the Squadron's points with Josh Oduro scoring 24 and Trey Alexander adding 28 points and 11 assists. Birmingham shot 53.9% (48-89) from the floor and 34% (11-32) from beyond the arc. 

Maine held the Squadron scoreless for the first two minutes of the game, and Kendall Brown's three gave Maine an early 12-8 lead with 7:45 remaining in the opening quarter. Brown rattled in another triple at the 5:52 mark to extend the Celtics' lead to nine, 17-8. Hank Morgan checked in and scored off a back cut as Maine went on a 12-0 run to claim a 21-8 lead. Fresh off a 42-point performance on Monday, Birmingham's Trey Alexander scored plus the foul to pull the Squadron within seven with 1:45 left in the first. Brown led the Celtics with 10 first quarter points as Maine led the Squadron 33-24 through one. 

The Celtics continued to control the Squadron to start the second quarter. Morgan found Hason Ward around the cup to match Maine's largest lead, 41-28 with 8:40 left in the first half. Ward scored a career-high 22 points on Monday, and on Tuesday he started shooting 4-4 from the floor. With 5:53 to go in the half, Hayden Gray scored plus the foul as Maine led 48-35. Christian Schumate threw down a dunk off a Squadron steal as Birmingham cut the Celtics lead down to six with 3:39 remaining. The Squadron pulled within four, but Maine scored the final seven points of the half to lead Birmingham 59-48 at the break. Keon Johnson led the Celtics with 17 first half points as Maine shot 50% (21-42) from the floor. 

Two and half minutes into the third quarter, Alexander's floater dropped to once again bring Birmingham within six of the Celtics. On the next possession, Hunter Dickinson buried a three to pull within three, 66-63. Maine quickly answered and a Jalen Bridges three extended Maine's lead back up to eight with 8:12 left in the third. It was the Squadron's turn to make a run, and Alexander scored through the contact to pull within one of Maine, 72-71 midway through the quarter. With 4:42 in the third, Josh Oduro scored in the paint to give Birmingham their first lead of the night, 73-72. Birmingham outscored Maine 39-25 in the quarter to lead Maine 87-84 at the end of the third. 

Dickinson's putback dunk ninety seconds into the fourth quarter helped the Squadron claim a 91-86 advantage. D.J. Carton connected on a corner three with 8:17 left in the game to extend Birmingham's lead to eight. A minute later, Dickinson earned another bucket after an offensive rebound to increase the lead to double digits, 103-92. Dickinson and the Squadron continued to control the fourth quarter, and a dunk by the Birmingham big man made it 112-95 with under five minutes to play. The lead was insurmountable for the Celtics, who lost back-to-back games in Birmingham. 

Maine's road trip continues when they travel north to face the Long Island Nets on March 19 at 7 p.m. The Celtics return home to the Expo on Sunday, March 22 against the Cleveland Charge.