![\"Maine](\"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/RHVQC6Suf-XKZPEelhfIetkCjIA=\/0x0:1456x828\/320x0\/filters:focal(0x0:1456x828):format(webp):no_upscale()\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/25889532\/clock_not_working_.jpg)
<\/picture> <\/span><\/figure>\nFor the Maine Celtics, however, it was no laughing matter. Despite missing several of its best players, the team emerged victorious over a feisty Motor City Cruise squad playing with a redlined engine. They\u2019re now fifth in the East with a 15-10 record, and they\u2019re 9-1 in their last 10 games.<\/p>\n
G-League MVP candidate J.D. Davison, who is averaging nearly 27 points and 8.3 assists, was with the big club. Ditto Celtics rookie Baylor Scheierman, who has averaged 20 points of his own while shooting 41% from deep on 10 three-point attempts per game.<\/p>\n
Maine most missed Davison in their ballhandling, as the team turned it over an astonishing 27 times \u2014 high even for a G-League team. In his absence, the ball ended up in Drew Peterson\u2019s hands a lot more often. He largely delivered.<\/p>\n
One of the joys of watching G-League games is seeing young guys test skills they\u2019re never allowed to exercise at the next level. Peterson, in particular, ran a lot of the offense (six assists!) and hunted his three-pointer off the dribble. He finished the game 6-for-11 from the field\u2026 and 6-for-11 from deep. Even when it looked like he might have a driving lane, he\u2019d dribble right back to the arc like a toddler at the beach afraid to get too close to surging waves:<\/p>\n
Peterson\u2019s insistence paid off. He had two monster go-ahead threes in the last minute of the tight game.<\/p>\n
First, he laced one from 30 feet out. Then, after G-League Player of the Week Daniss Jenkins hit an absurd triple with eight seconds left, Peterson drilled a step-back game-winner over a Cruise player (Trae Hannibal) he\u2019d been jawing back and forth with all half:<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t clip it, but the broadcast showed him slinging some USDA Choice-grade words in the opponents\u2019 direction.<\/p>\n
It was good that Peterson was out there because his shots sandwiched a pair of airballed threes from Tristan Enaruna (who otherwise had a nice game, particularly on the glass) and Anton Watson.<\/p>\n
Jay Scrubb had a very Jay Scrubb game, knocking in six of 10 shots in just 19 minutes while turning it over six times(!). I\u2019ve always liked his movement off the ball and his aggressiveness, and a nice dunk highlighted how far he\u2019s come since tearing his ACL right before last season. He still feels like he\u2019s doing too much at times. That\u2019s a natural result of missing a whole season due to injury, but it\u2019s an instinct he\u2019ll need to curb.<\/p>\n
James Banks III deserves a shout-out. The big man provided steady rim protection, moved his feet on the perimeter, ran hard in transition, and cleaned up the glass with five offensive rebounds while making five of his six shots. He will never light up the scoreboard, but the Maine Celtics have two years of proof that he can be a high-level shotblocker at this level.<\/p>\n
As for Davison and Scheierman? They both got some minutes against the Toronto Raptors. Neither made much noise (although Scheierman did float in a difficult runner during real minutes at the end of the third quarter), but coach Joe Mazzulla did have some praise for them and the team\u2019s player development staff after the game:<\/p>\n
\nJoe Mazzulla with some well-deserved praise for the Celtics\u2019 \u201cStay Ready Group\u201d and their player development staff:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says something about our player development staff. It says something about the guys that they treat every day the same. That they can go in and be ready to\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/hLrf7S18ca<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3FPhSJbGgy<\/a><\/p>\n
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n