Red Claws Ice Energy
As it turned out, we need not worry.
The Red Claws seemingly corrected all the problems that plagued the team on Sunday, especially the slow start and listless defense. This was, no doubt, the result of hard work throughout the week. As a result, by the end of the first quarter the Claws had built a ten-point lead. Iowa tried to come back in the second, but never really got going. The Claws defense kept them on their toes, never resting and never letting the Energy establish any kind of offensive dominance. Maine led at the end of every quarter and finished with an impressive seven-point victory over the best team in the D-League.
The Maine offense returned to form with a truly balanced attack. Five players scored double digits, and the longest anyone played was 36 minutes. Trey Gilder had another good night – with 15 points and 10 rebounds he had his second double-double as a Red Claw. Alexis Ajinca – Maine’s only remaining NBA assignee – had a very good game as well, recovering from his recent less-than-stellar weekend. Ajinca almost gave the Claws another double-double, with 16 points and 9 rebounds. This was his second-best performance of the season.
As a whole the team’s rebounds – and the entire defense – were a vast improvement over Sunday night’s flop. They led Iowa in that category (though not by a huge margin), just as Bakersfield out-rebounded them Sunday night. Even without their Celtics, the Claws outplayed the best team in the D-League on both sides of the court on their way to a 95-88 victory.
This was a huge win for the Red Claws, readily bouncing back from a humiliating home loss against a much worse team. They showed their resilience as a team; now they just have to return to their previous form rather than regressing. In the D-League – just as in the NBA – good teams will occasionally lose to bad teams. The question is how you react to it. A team can either let that be the start of a tailspin or use it as motivation to return to their winning ways.
This afternoon, the Red Claws proved that they were a contender with their impressive victory.
NOTES: This was the Red Claws’ fifth straight sellout…Maine plays the 4-9 Erie BayHawks tomorrow in Portland.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Trey Gilder with his double-double; Honorable Mention to Darnell Lazare (17 points).
Related posts:
Celtics Blog | Jim | December 31, 2009
Alexis Ajinca, Bill Walker, Darnell Lazare, Iowa Energy, Lester Hudson, Trey Gilder
I was sitting courtside at the game (my first ever game) and I was really impressed with Mario West. The team seemed to be so much better when he was running the point. And of course that monsterous dunk helped a lot too.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
It was a great game, wasn’t it? I didn’t have yesterday off, so unfortunately I missed it – I had to do this recap based on the box score/play-by-play. If you make it to another game come over and say Hi; I’m right over by the scorer’s table. GO RED CLAWS!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I was courtside yesterday it was great. I’m actually in the youtube video after West’s dunk, with my Pierce jersey on. Awesome entertainment for the price.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0