Maine looks for key win in Long Island

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - The Maine Celtics conclude their final road trip of the season with a tough test against the Long Island Nets on Thursday night.

Thursday's game is a make-up game for the previous matchup slated between the Celtics and Nets on February 23, which was cancelled due to inclement weather. Long Island and Maine did meet two days later in February, with the Nets coming out on top 116-109 despite a triple-double from Amari Williams. Ben Saraf led the Long Island Nets with a game-high 32 points on 12-19 shooting. Including the Tip-Off Tournament, Maine is 2-1 against Long Island this season.

Maine (15-18) needs a victory as it makes a late push for the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google. The Celtics currently sit in 11th, one game back of the eight place Windy City Bulls. Long Island is sixth in the Eastern Conference at 18-13. Including Thursday night, Maine has just three games remaining in the Regular Season. The Celtics are looking to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

The Celtics lost two in a row in the first pair of games on the road trip to the Birmingham Squadron. On Tuesday, Birmingham outscored Maine  74-47 in the second half to sweep the two-game series. 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. 

Maine's Keon Johnson and Kendall Brown are no strangers to the Nets organization. Brown played for Long Island last season, eventually earning a Two-Way contract with the Nets. Johnson started 56 out of the 79 games he appeared in for the Brooklyn Nets in 2024-25. The 23-year-old guard averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 steals in his fourth NBA season. Johnson recently scored a career-high 43 points in Maine's 144-143 loss to Birmingham on Monday.

Thursday's game will be broadcast live on NBAGLeague.com, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.