Williams posts another triple-double, Celtics lose in Long Island

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Amari Williams posted his fourth triple-double of the season, but the Maine Celtics couldn't overcome the Long Island Nets in a 116-109 loss on Wednesday night. 

Maine falls to 12-14 and goes 1-2 on their three-game road trip. The Nets improved to 15-10 with the victory after beating the Celtics for the first time this season. 

On assignment from Boston, Williams led Maine with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Two-Way player Max Shulga scored a team-high 24 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Jalen Bridges and Kendall Brown each added 16 points, and Hayden Gray finished with 12 points and seven assists as all five Celtics starters scored in double figures. Keon Johnson provided 10 points off the bench in his first game played since December 12. Maine shot 46.3% (37-80) from the floor and 52.6% (20-38) from three. 

Seven Nets players scored double figures on Wednesday night. Ben Saraf led the Long Island Nets with a game-high 32 points on 12-19 shooting. Chaney Johnson added 19 points and eight rebounds, and EJ Liddell and Trevon Scott each added 13 points. Long Island shot 50.6% (45-89) from the floor, including 38.2% (13-34) from beyond the arc. 

Maine jumped out in front first, and a bucket by Williams gave Maine a 12-7 advantage three minutes into the contest. Ben Saraf let everyone know early that he was going to have a big night. Saraf scored plus the foul to cap an 8-0 Nets run and tie the game at 15 with 6:37 remaining in the opening quarter. Former Boston Celtic Josh Minott knocked down a three with 12.3 seconds left on the clock to give the Nets a 27-26 lead after the first. 

Max Shulga was unstoppable from distance in the first half. The Two-Way player knocked down one of his five, first-half triples to give Maine a 41-34 advantage with 7:03 to play in the second quarter. Saraf continued to pour it on, and a made three by the Brooklyn player on assignment put Long Island back on top, 53-52 with under two minutes to play in the first half. Maine scored seven straight to claim a six-point advantage, but Chaney Johnson beat the buzzer from beyond the arc to pull Long Island within three, 59-56 at the break. Shulga led all scorers with 19 first half points and Saraf scored 17 on 6-8 shooting for the Nets. Maine connected on 11-22 shots from distance in the first two quarters. 

Hayden Gray converted on back-to-back three-point attempts to give Maine a 72-64 lead, their largest to that point, at the 8:10 mark of the third quarter. Long Island responded with a 10-3 run as Tyson Etienne's three tied the game again at 74 with 6:13 to play. With 3:45 left in the quarter, Etienne connected on another triple to extend Long Island's lead to five. A made three by Malachi Smith, followed by a strong finish at the basket by Hunter Cattoor gave the Nets an 87-78 lead. Maine turned the ball over on the next possession and Trevon Scott buried a three to balloon the Nets lead to 12 with less than two minutes to play in the third. Maine scored the final five points of the quarter but trailed Long Island 93-83 at the end of the third. 

Maine worked to chip into the Nets lead, but Scott connected on another three with 7:16 to play to extend Long Island's lead to 13 at 106-93. Saraf's big night continued, and the Nets guard sneaked past Hason Ward at the rim to give Long Island a 112-96 lead with 5:11 to go. With 2:50 remaining, a Jalen Bridges three cut the Long Island lead down to eight. The Celtics couldn't draw any closer in the fourth quarter and fell to the Nets 116-109. 

Maine returns to the Expo on Friday where the Celtics will face the Windy City Bulls at 7 p.m.