PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Red Claws clinched their third playoff berth in franchise history, defeating Grand Rapids 129-123 Sunday in an NBA D-League game Sunday at the Portland Expo.
It will be the second straight postseason appearance for Maine. The Red Claws have now won a season-best seven straight games.
Jordan Mickey, on assignment from the Boston Celtics, led the Claws with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Omari Johnson added 22 points, Corey Walden scored 22 points and had 4 rebounds, and Malcolm Miller added 20 points and 6 rebounds. Tim Frazier finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 14 assists.
Maine (28-15) got off to a slow start, with the exception of Johnson. He made four 3-pointers in the first quarter, propelling Maine to a 20-11 lead. Grand Rapids (18-24) answered behind Henry Sims and Kelsey Barlow. The Drive went on a 21-9 run to close out the quarter, ending the quarter with a 32-29 lead.
Grand Rapids continued the strong play in the second quarter, with Kevin Ebanks and Lorenzo Brown contributing. Frazier’s buzzer-beater was waved off, and the Drive enjoyed a 69-59 lead at halftime. Barlow finished with a game-high 32 points, with Sims adding 28 points and 15 rebounds, and Brown finishing with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists.
The second half was a different story. Miller led the charge in the third quarter, scoring 16 points, the majority of them from the charity stripe and the Red Claws took a 93-92 lead to close out the third.
In the fourth quarter, Mickey drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Maine up four. Marcus Thornton scored five straight points, and Frazier set up Miller to cap off a run that surged the Claws’ lead to nine. From there, the Red Claws cruised and held on to clinch the playoff berth.