The Maine Red Claws changed the pace of the game in the second half and earned a come-from-behind 129-123 win over the Grand Rapids Drive to clinch an NBA D-League playoff berth Sunday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
Maine (28-15) trailed 69-59 at the half, then attack Grand Rapids (18-24) in transition and by taking the ball to the basket to rally to its seventh straight win in front of 2,717 fans. Seven different players scored in double figures for Maine, including center Jordan Mickey, who finished with a double-double (28 points, 11 rebounds).
COMING UP
WEDNESDAY: Red Claws at Canton Charge, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY: Iowa Energy at Red Claws, 7 p.m.
“It’s nice to get into the playoffs, but it’s more important that we keep improving and playing good basketball,” said Red Claws Coach Scott Morrison. “We didn’t do that in the first half, but we scored enough to stay in it and then played one really good quarter and it was enough to get the win.”
Point guard Tim Frazier, the reigning D-League player of the week, also had a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 14 assists.
Maine set a franchise record with 24 3-pointers against the Drive on Friday night and the Red Claws looked like they on their way to another hot-shooting game Sunday when Omari Johnson hit a 3 to give Maine an early 11-7 lead. The Red Claws made three more 3-pointers (two more by Johnson) and led 20-11 with 6:10 left in the first quarter.
Maine went cold the rest of the first and fell behind 32-29.
Grand Rapids extended its lead in the second quarter, scoring 11 points off turnovers and shooting 68 percent from the floor. Kelsey Barlow, who finished with 32 points, scored 15 points in the second quarter.
Lorenzo Brown added 14 points in the first half and Henry Sims had 13 points and six rebounds.
Maine clawed its way back into the game, led by Malcolm Miller, who drew six fouls in the third quarter and scored 16 of his 20 points to help Maine take a 93-92 lead into the fourth quarter.
“In the first half, we settled too much,” said Morrison. “We had our best offensive quarter in the third and we didn’t hit a three. Malcolm did a nice job getting to the rim. He kind of put us on his back and carried us there.”
In the third, Maine drew 10 fouls and took 14 foul shots. Miller finished 14 for 15 from the free-throw line, team high’s for attempts and makes in a game. Maine’s 39 free-throw attempts was also a season high.
The Red Claws turned it up defensive in the third as well, forcing five turnovers, which was as many as they forced in the first half. They also limited Grand Rapids to 10-of-24 shooting.
“We felt like we weren’t playing to our full potential in the first half,” said Miller. “We were scoring, but we were letting them score too easily. We just wanted to come back out as the aggressor, because we know the more aggressive, stronger team is going to win the game.”
Maine put the game away in the fourth, behind 10 points from Corey Walden, who finished with 22.
Johnson also scored 22 points for Maine, including six 3-pointers. Miller finished with 20.
Sims finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds for Grand Rapids. Devin Ebanks finished with 25 points and Brown had 24 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.
The playoff berth is the third in franchise history for the Red Claws and the second straight.
The Red Claws return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Canton Charge.
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