If Thursday night’s game turns out to be a preview of the upcoming NBA D-League playoffs, fans in Portland are in for a show.
The Canton Charge – who swept Maine in two games last spring – had their way with the Red Claws Thursday night, leading from start to finish and even rubbing salt in the wound at the end of a 110-99 victory before a crowd of 2,287.
Kay Felder, a 5-foot-9 rookie guard on assignment from the parent Cleveland Cavaliers, drove in a for a dunk that didn’t quite beat the final buzzer but certainly will be remembered should the teams meet again in April.
Felder finished with 26 points on 12-of-33 shooting that included flushes of two alley-oop passes. He also had nine assists.
“We talked about him a fair bit this week,” Red Claws Coach Scott Morrison said. “I didn’t think his scoring was the end of us (Thursday). I thought our transition defense was the reason we lost the game, but Felder also hurt us passing the ball. … We’ve got to be able to contest his shots without taking three guys to do it.”
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Red Claws (28-18), whose magic number remains two for clinching a third straight Atlantic Division title. They have four games left, including a regular-season home finale Sunday afternoon against Reno.
Canton (29-18) stands in second place in the Central Division.
“We’re not clinched in the playoffs,” Canton Coach Nate Reinking said. “So for us, we’re trying to get the mentality like every game is a playoff game. Tonight we came out, we played extremely well but we knew Maine, they’ve got firepower, too.”
Canton jumped to leads of 10-2 and 27-13 before the Claws cut it to eight after one quarter. They came as close as four (44-40) midway through the second on a 3-pointer by Coron Williams before Canton went on a 12-0 run and entered halftime with a 63-44 lead.
Eric Moreland (14 points, 16 rebounds) took a Felder pass and dunked early in the third for a 79-51 advantage, Canton’s largest of the night.
With help from two Celtics assigned to Maine, Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson, the Claws cut the margin to single digits in the fourth and with two minutes left had two open looks from deep to make it a five-point game, but attempts from both Marcus Georges-Hunt and Jackson rimmed out.
“It was important for us to show that fight,” said Mickey, who led Maine in points (20) and rebounds (11). “We battled back. We didn’t quit.”
John Holland led Canton with 28 points on 16 fewer shots (11 of 17) than Felder. Williams had 18 for Maine, Jackson 16 and Abdel Nader 14.
After Jackson made two free throws with 6.4 seconds left, both teams relaxed, assuming Canton would dribble out the clock. Instead, Felder brought the ball up court and dunked, with Mickey coming over to contest it.
“No NBA team I know of would do that,” Mickey said. “I know the Celtics wouldn’t do it for sure and I doubt the Cavaliers would so something like that. Guys know better than to do stuff like that.”
He paused.
“I’ll keep that in the back of my mind,” he said, “if we happen to play these guys again.”
NOTES: Guerschon Yabusele, drafted 16th overall by the Celtics last June, was in attendance Thursday night, along with Boston scouting director Dave Lewin and Celtic-turned-broadcaster Brian Scalabrine.
Yabusele, who is from France, signed a D-League contract but said he is awaiting a work visa. The left ankle he sprained in China earlier this month “is getting better,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the visa now to have a chance to play (with the Red Claws).”
He has a meeting Monday in Ottawa. Lewin is hopeful Yabusele can join the Claws for the final three regular-season games, all on the road.
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