The stuff that makes dynamite so explosive is called trinitrotoluene, or TNT for short.
The Red Claws have their own version of T ‘n’ T, in the form of Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters, both employed under two-way contracts as rookies of the Boston Celtics.
When Tacko and Tremont come together, as was the case in Sunday afternoon’s 115-91 G League victory over the College Park (Maryland) Skyhawks before a sellout crowd of 2,417 at the Portland Expo, the Red Claws have been unbeatable.
Waters, the 5-foot-10 point guard, led all scorers with 27 points and dished out eight assists. Fall, the 7-foot-5 center, swallowed up 18 rebounds, blocked two shots, altered several others and dropped in 21 points.
Because of injuries and recalls to the Celtics, the two roommates played together Sunday for the first time in two weeks and first at the Expo in more than a month. The Claws are 8-0 with both in the lineup, 3-6 without the duo.
“It just felt good being able to get out there and get back playing together,” Waters said.
“We have good chemistry together,” Fall said. “We’ve spent a lot of time in Boston already. I’m very familiar with his game and he’s very familiar with my game.”
Initially penciled in to the starting lineup, Fall disappeared from view after apparently straining a tendon in his left knee after a dunk in warm-ups. As the game began, he was on a training table receiving heat treatment and John Bohannon took the court in his place.
“We just wanted to delay Tackomania for the fans,” joked Red Claws Coach Darren Erman, who eventually sent Fall into the game in the fourth minute of the first quarter.
After the Claws built up a lead of as many as 13 points in the first half, College Park chipped away and briefly took a one-point lead before and shortly after halftime. When Fall dunked on a pick-and-roll pass from Bryce Brown and added a bonus free throw, Maine took the lead for good at 60-58.
Waters then set up Yante Maten for a dunk and drained consecutive 3-pointers (he was 5 of 12 from deep) to extend the margin. The Skyhawks came no closer than double digits in the fourth quarter as Trey Davis (20 points, three steals, six assists) took his turn at the tiller.
The winning margin of 24 points matched Maine’s season high.
“It’s good to be home,” Erman said. “It’s good to have Tacko, an NBA-level rim protector. Our defense has been really good when we’ve had Tacko. We just haven’t had him very often.”
When Fall was on the floor Sunday, Maine outscored College Park by 33 points. With Waters on the floor, the margin was plus-31. The closest Red Claws starter was Brown at plus-nine.
Among reserves, Jaysean Paige had the second-best plus-minus to Fall at plus-19. Paige finished with 13 points, three steals and three assists.
Fall, who saw a few minutes of NBA action with the Celtics in recent home games against Detroit and Charlotte, had been away from Portland for more than a month, having last taken the Expo floor on Nov. 23. Last Monday he borrowed the baton as a guest conductor for the Boston Pops.
“It was awesome,” he said of his holiday concert experience, which included a few dance moves. “I had a lot of fun. I might do that again. They said you’re welcome anytime.”
The Claws return to action Tuesday at a sold-out Expo in a game moved up one hour to a noon tip-off to accommodate television. NBC Sports Boston plans to air the game live.
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