Playing without Chris McCullough, who was in Oklahoma with the parent club, the Long Island Nets lost to the Maine Red Claws, 114-98, Friday night at the Portland Expo.
Marcus Georges-Hunt, a Nets summer league player, recorded the 11th triple-double in Red Claws history, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists. Jalen Jones led all scorers with 31 points in 10-of-16 shooting. Abdel Nader added 24 points for the Celtics affiliate.
Four Nets scored in double figures, led by Donnie McGrath, the 32-year-old point guard, who scored 19 points and handed out 12 assists. Carrick Felix and Egidijus Mockevicius finished with 18. Mockevicius also had eight rebounds as did Beau Beech, who had 10 points. McCullough, who had played in the L.I. Nets two previous games, had averaged 15.5 points in D-League action. Boris Dallo, who had averaged nearly a double double off the bench in the first two games, finished with seven points and three assists in 21 minutes.
The Red Claws (3-1) started hot, out-scoring the Nets 35-24 in the first quarter, with Jones and Nader leading the way. Long Island (1-2) weathered the storm in the second quarter, riding the hot perimeter shooting from McGrath who hit 5-of-7 from downtown. Maine went into the break with a 59-50 lead.
In the second half, Maine jumped out to a seven-point lead, but Long Island stormed back, taking a 70-69 lead on a J.J. Moore lay-up. The Red Claws then went on a 12-2 run, with Jones and Georges-Hunt leading the way. Long Island won the third quarter, 26-24, but Maine still held a lead going in the final period.
In the fourth, the Nets again got back in the game -– Mockevicius’ lay-in tied in at 88. From that point, Maine out-scored Long Island 26-10, finishing the game strong. Nader and Lee’s back-to-back three pointers in the final minutes put the game away.
Video of the full game can be found here.
The Nets still have one more road game, vs. the Raptors 905, in Mississauga, Ontario, Sunday, before their home opener Wednesday night vs. Canton.
Meanwhile, the team received some bad news. Lazar Hayward, who’s played 72 NBA games and looked good early, fractured his right hand, requiring surgery. In two games for Long Island this season, Hayward has averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 22.9 minutes per game.
- Box Score - Long Island Nets vs. Maine Red Claws - D-League
- Donnie McGrath with 12 assists vs. Maine (Video) - D-League
- Long Island Nets at Maine Red Claws (Gallery) - D-League
- Lazar Hayward Injury Update - D-League