Dream Season Ends in Nightmare for Maine Celtics

Not every story ends the way you want it to. Sadly, that was the case for the hometown Maine Celtics.

The Celtics fell to the Oklahoma City Blue 117-100 in Game 3 of the Best-of-Three G-League Finals. The win meant OKC clinched its first ever G-League championship in its current franchise form.

It had been a remarkable year for Maine, who finished the regular season with the second-best record in the conference. The Celtics received a bye for the first round of the playoffs, followed by consecutive wins over Delaware Blue Coats and the Long Island Nets. This set them up with a matchup in the finals against the Blue, which ended with a tough loss in rocking sold-out Portland Expo.

The game was a back-and-forth affair early, before the Blue took control with outstanding shooting and aggressive defense. OKC then used a 21-0 run to take a 23-point lead into halftime.

Maine tried its best to get back in the game, including another incredible performance from JD Davison, but it would be the Blue's night. Led by Osuman Dieng's 25 points, OKC would deflect any Maine run and comfortably hold a large lead until the final horn sounded.

While this was the first championship for the Blue, it's technically the third for the franchise. The team won two championships as the Asheville Attitude back in the early 2000s before NBA teams started affiliations with the league.

While it was a disappointing result for Maine, it shouldn't take away from what was a truly incredible season, which included its first-ever Easter Conference championship and trip to the finals.

Congrats to Maine on a mighty fine season, one that both players and fans will likely never forget. Everyone should be proud of what the squad was able to accomplish.

Here's hoping for similar results and fun in 2024-2025.