Maine Celtics come up short to Magic, 140-133

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics came up short to the Osceola Magic, 140-133 in a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night.

Maine falls to 20-12 during the Regular Season and slips to second place in the Eastern Conference Standings. Osceola improves to 19-10 and moves into first place.

Drew Peterson recorded his first triple double of the season and the third in his career. Peterson led Maine with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. JD Davison and Jay Scrubb each scored 29 points in a high-scoring game against the Magic. Tristan Enaruna added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench for Maine. The Celtics finished the game shooting 53.3% (49-92) from the floor and 35.9% (14-39) from three.

Osceola saw four players score 20 points or more, led by 29 points and 7 rebounds from Jarrett Culver. Mac McClung added 27, 5, and 5 while Ethan Thompson scored 26 points. Javonte Smart was key for the Magic down the stretch, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Magic were hard to guard on offense, finishing Thursday's game shooting 57.6% from the floor, including 46.2% (18-39) from beyond the arc.

On January 26th, Mac McClung led the Magic to a 108-105 overtime win over the Celtics at the Portland Expo. Everything has changed for Maine since then. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 16 games, vaulting to the top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in the NBA G League. The Magic began the night right behind them in second, having won eight of their last 10 games. That set the stage for what was a playoff-like atmosphere in the Expo on Thursday night.

Back in February during the NBA Rising Stars Challenge, McClung said JD Davison is playing like the NBA G League MVP. High praise from the league's reigning MVP, and Thursday night's matchup between the league's top two guards did not disappoint. The Magic won the opening tip and McClung scored in the first five seconds as Osceola jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Two-Way player Ethan Thompson couldn't miss in the opening quarter, scoring 16 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the floor. Osceola buried seven three-pointers and shot 61% from the floor as the Magic led Maine 50-36 after the first quarter. 50 points is a new franchise record for points scored by an opponent in a single quarter against the Celtics.

Maine turned up the intensity to start the second quarter, and back to back steals resulted in electrifying dunks in the open floor. Phillip Wheeler punched a one-handed slam to cut the Magic's lead down to 13 with 8:46 on the clock. Jay Scrubb knocked down an open three with 6:31 left to cut the deficit down to single digits for the first time in the quarter, 61-52. Davison drove through the lane on the next possession pull Maine within seven. Tristan Enaruna connected on a corner three with 1:44 left in the first half to pull the Celtics within three, 71-68. Both teams shot over 55% from the floor as the Magic led the Celtics 78-73 at halftime. Davison led Maine with 20 points on 8-12 shooting at the half and Thompson led the Magic with 21 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor.

The third quarter set the tone for what would be a physical second half between two of the G League's best. McClung weaved through the lane and scored with 6:48 on the clock to keep the Magic in front, 91-85. Maine answered with a run of their own and an Enaruna dunk brought the Expo crowd to their feet as Maine pulled within one with 6:05 left in the quarter. A free throw by Enaruna gave Maine their first lead of the game, 92-91. The Expo kept rocking as Scrubb stole an Osceola inbound pass to give Maine a 106-99 lead with 29.3 seconds left in the third. Scrubb followed it up with a step back triple to give the Celtics their largest lead of the game 109-101 at the end of the third quarter.

Culver and Javonte Smart led a 16-6 Magic run to start the fourth quarter as Osceola jumped back in front, 117-115 with 8:48 to play. Davison found Miles Norris for a two-handed jam to tie the game up at 122. After Norris denied a shot by McClung, the Two-Way player dished an assist to Enaruna to regain the lead for Maine, 127-125. Both teams traded blows down to the final minute, setting up another nail biting finish at the Expo. McClung found a way to knock down a contested three with 2:33 remaining to lead Maine 134-131. Smart followed up McClung with another made shot from distance to deliver a six point lead for Osceola with under two minutes left. Smart scored again on the next possession to give Osceola a commanding 139-131 advantage with less than a minute to play in the game. Smart scored 18 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter alone. An electric game would end in defeat for the Maine Celtics, 140-133.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Drew Peterson was the Player of the Game after recording a triple double with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Two-Way player was 8-15 from the field, and also recorded three steals on defense.

THE ROAD AHEAD: Maine is back at the Portland Expo on Sunday to face the Delaware Blue Coats at 1 p.m. The game will broadcast live on NBC Sports Boston and NBA TV.