PORTLAND – The Maine Red Claws roster has been in flux from Day One. And while that’s not unusual for an NBA Development League team, on Saturday afternoon the Red Claws looked like a team desperately in need of some extended practice time.
With no rhythm on offense and no help on defense, Maine was routed 101-83 by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before a sellout crowd at the Portland Expo.
Additional Photos
Maine fell behind by 15, rallied back to take a brief one-point lead in the third quarter, then fell to a furious finish by the Vipers, who controlled the game inside both offensively and defensively. It was the Red Claws’ third consecutive loss.
“Yeah, we took the lead, but we let up on defense also,” said guard Courtney Pigram, who again led the Red Claws in scoring with 17 points. “It’s some things that we say over and over and over that we can’t have if we’re going to win the game. Today was on us. We weren’t communicating (on defense).”
Maine (4-9) struggled offensively, hitting just 35.4 percent of its shots and getting only 15 assists — about five below average. The Vipers (9-6) made it tough by blocking 13 shots — six by Damian Saunders.
Those blocked shots affected nearly everything the Red Claws tried to do inside. As Pigram said, “I think we were looking more for the foul. We really weren’t focusing on finishing the layups.”
The Red Claws held an early lead at 7-6, but Rio Grande ended the first quarter up by 11 and the first half up by eight.
Maine trailed by 13 in the third quarter, then roared back with an 11-0 run, keyed by strong inside defense and hard drives to the basket. A Pigram 3-pointer from the left wing, set up by former Boston Celtic Ricky Davis, gave Maine the lead at 62-61.
Rio Grande responded with a 7-0 run to end the quarter with a six-point lead. Then the Vipers really took control. Of their 12 baskets in the fourth quarter, seven came on either dunks or layups. They also had four 3-pointers — three by Lee Humphrey, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the final 12 minutes.
Maine was never closer than six points in the fourth.
Dave Leitao, coach of the Red Claws, said the lack of continuity and practice time is hurting the Red Claws, but added that that’s part of playing and coaching in the D-League.
“We try to keep things simple and play as hard as we can as long as possible,” he said. “And I’m more upset about that than anything else. We’re not playing as hard as we can for as long as we can.”
NOTES: Along with Davis, guards Jerome Randle and Xavier Silas made their home debuts for Maine. Silas joined the Red Claws on Dec. 26 as an affiliate player from Philadelphia. Randle was acquired along with forward Lawrence Hill from the Texas Legends for the Claws’ second and third-round picks in next year’s draft … Maine waived guard Darren Cooper and center Mike Tisdale.
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.