Celtics ready for showdown with Salt Lake City

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics wrap up their homestand this weekend with two games against one of the top teams in the NBA G League, the Salt Lake City Stars.

Maine (3-4) has won two straight games at home and will look to end their five game homestand on a high note against the 4-1 Stars. The Celtics and Stars will play at the Portland Expo on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's game will broadcast live ESPN+ and NBC Sports Boston at 7 p.m.

Salt Lake City most recently beat Rip City 143-110 on January 3 and won the Winter Showcase Tournament Championship in December.

"Just another game for us. Being able to say the most important game is the next game, and the next game is Salt Lake City," said Head Coach Phil Pressey. "We will take it like any other game and prepare. Being able to get another rematch and play them again at home, I'm excited for that opportunity."

Maine lost to the Stars 123-107 in the quarterfinals of the Winter Showcase Tournament. The Stars eventually beat Raptors 905 to win the tournament title. In that game, Ron Harper Jr. led Maine with a team-high 29 points, three rebounds and five assists. Jalen Bridges knocked down eight three pointers to pour in 28 points for the Celtics. Both are new career-highs for Bridges. Bridges said it's important that Maine matches the Stars' pace on Thursday and Friday.

"We need to match their pace, if not play at a faster pace than them," Bridges said. "They like to try to outscore you, so we got to guard without fouling and match their pace, match their intensity. If we get some stops, I know what we're capable of on the other end."

Salt Lake City is the highest scoring team in the G League, averaging 133.3 points per game. They're also first in field goal percentage (50.1%), three-point percentage (37.7%), free throws made per game(16.1), free throw percentage (83.6%), and are first in turnovers with just 14.6 per game. While the Stars are first in offense, Maine is fourth in defensive rating (108.2) and will rely on that defensive rating to slow down the Stars.

Elijah Harkless led the Stars in scoring in the first meeting with a game-high 32 points on 10-19 shooting. Harkless, a Two-Way player for the Jazz, was recently named the Player of the Month for December after he averaged 28.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 29.3 minutes per game. He scored 20-or-more points in nine of those contests and topped the 30-point mark four times.

While Harkless had a strong December, Maine's Amari Williams is coming off the most productive stretch of his rookie season. Williams has averaged 25.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game in last three games. On New Years Eve against Noblesville, Williams recorded his second triple double of the season. On January 2 and January 3, the rookie center had a 30+ point double-double in both Celtics wins. Salt Lake City is expected to be without Oscar Tshiebwe (NWT), one of the G League's top rebounders for the series with Maine. Tshiebwe averaged 18.2 rebounds per game last season, setting the all-time single-season league record. Williams knows that with or without Tshiebwe, the Stars bring plenty of firepower to the table.

"They have a lot of good guards, too," Williams said. "It's similar to this team (Maine), they have a lot of gritty guys so coming out there with the same performance, not having any lapses and just bringing the same fight every game will be the main focal point."

Williams is currently third in the G League in rebounds per game during the regular season with 12.2 per game. The series is also a reunion for recently acquired Celtics forward Pedro Bradshaw. Bradshaw was acquired last week in a trade with the Stars, and has provided a veteran presence on the bench for Maine.

After Thursday and Friday's games, Maine will hit the road for a four game road trip, beginning with a date against the Wisconsin Herd on January 14.