GAME PREVIEW: Maine Rings In the New Year Against Texas

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Maine Celtics will ring in the New Year when they host the Texas Legends on Tuesday at the Portland Expo.

Maine is fresh off a 112-111 road win over Motor City that saw seven Celtics score in double figures, led by another impressive effort by Ron Harper Jr. Harper Jr. has come off the bench to score 57 total points in the first two games of the regular season. Baylor Scheierman and JD Davison both packed the stat sheet with near triple-double efforts. Davison finished with 17 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds while the Boston assignee boasted 17 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.

The Celtics (1-1) now turn their attention to Texas (0-1) on Tuesday. The Legends lost their regular season opener to the OKC Blue after finishing the G League Tip-Off Tournament with a 6-10 record.

Maine and Texas boast two of the top scorers in the G League in Two-Way Players Brandon Williams (Texas) and JD Davison (Maine). During Tip-Off play, Williams lead the league in scoring at 28.5 points per game and Davison was third at 26.5 ppg. It's not surprising to note the two guards each had one of the best scoring performances in a single game so far this season. Williams dropped 45 points on December 6 against Rio Grande Valley and Davison scored 46 against Capital City on December 4. That said, Texas will be without Williams on Tuesday, as well as without their other Two-Way players Kessler Edwards and Jazian Gortman. Tyson Sharp is also on the injury report for Texas.

In the frontcourt, Maine's first home regular season game features a battle between two of the top shot blockers in the G League. Maine's Hason Ward averaged just under three blocks per game (2.8) to lead the Celtics. Legends big man Jamarion Sharp is also a top-flight rim protector with 2.9 blocks per game. Maine and Texas are tied with 8.5 blocks per game

TURNOVER BATTLE: Maine finished the Tip-Off Tournament as the best team in the G League in turnovers, averaging less than 14 per game (13.8). The Celtics turned the ball over just 10 times in their recent win over the Cruise.

CRASHING THE GLASS: Prolific scoring and rim protection aren't the only things Maine and Texas have in common. Both teams averaged over 14 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks top-five in the G League.

WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT: Baylor Scheierman is expected to be on assignment with Maine. Two-Way Players Drew Peterson and Anton Watson missed the first two games of the regular season. Peterson was away with Boston and Watson was on the injury report. Donald Carey Jr. and Dmytro Skapintsev are out for Tuesday's game. Eric Gaines is questionable.

WHERE TO WATCH: Maine and Texas will tip-off at 12 p.m. for the annual New Year's Eve game at the Portland Expo. The game will broadcast on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Boston.