Maine closing in on playoffs

PORTLAND — It’s two wins and counting for the Maine Red Claws.

Maine is only two wins away from becoming the third franchise in NBA D-League history to reach the playoffs as an expansion team. The Red Claws got closer to that goal Sunday afternoon by defeating the Springfield Armor 118-107 in front of a sellout crowd of 3,045 at the Portland Expo.

The Red Claws are currently the number four seed for the eight team D-League playoffs.

Maine forward Marcus Landry, allocated from the Boston Celtics, hit a season high 34 points, including going eight for 10 in three point shots to help the Red Claws pull ahead from what was otherwise a back and forth battle through three quarters of play.

Landry, who was a part of the Nate Robertson trade from the New York Knicks to the Celtics last month, was assigned to the Red Claws on March 6.

“Today was just a great day,” Landry said. “Hopefully, I can build off of this with this team and we can continue to win games.”

Landry said he was frustrated at first about being sent from the NBA to the D-League, but with the help of teammates, he has become more focused on honing his skills to get back to the NBA.

“It’s a process,” Landry said. “I worked hard to get where I’m at now. Now being sent down to the D-League, for whatever reason, makes me want to work that much harder to get back up there. It’s great to be with guys down here as well, but everybody that plays out here wishes they were up there.”

The Red Claws (27-17) struggled with shooting in the first half, making only 18 of 42 shots (43 percent). Maine had a 29-28 lead after the first quarter, but Springfield, led by the play of forward Christopher Ayer, who scored 10 points, took the lead in the second quarter and at one point led by as much as nine points.

Ayer finished with 17 points for the game.

Maine was successful in knocking down six of 11 three point shots in the half, keeping within six points of Springfield, heading into halftime down 58-52.

Landry was the lone bright spot in the first half, scoring 14 points.

Maine still had its shooting struggles in the second half, but made up for it behind the arc, as Maine finished 14 of 24 (58 percent) in three point shots.

Springfield (7-35) hung tough with the Red Claws throughout the third quarter, trailing 81-78. But Landry’s play was too tough to be ignored, and the Red Claws pulled away in the fourth for the 118-107 win.

Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge said Landry needed minutes to improve his game.

“Marcus was huge,” Ainge said. “We were sluggish, lethargic, with horrible defense in the first half. He carried us, kept us in, and made a lot of big plays. It was just taking a few games to get comfortable, he sat the whole year [in New York]. He’s coming in when people are in midseason form, so it’s going to take him a few games. He carried us tonight.”

Several Red Claws players stepped up in the second half, including forward Paul Davis, who finished with 19 points, and Morris Almond, who scored 16 points.

Springfield forward and former Red Claw Noel Felix finished as the high scorer for Springfield with 20 points.

The Red Claws now have a three game winning streak heading, after two straight wins over Albuquerque, and are heading into a grueling road trip this week, playing games against Dakota and Sioux Falls on Monday and Wednesday before traveling to Reno for games on Friday and Saturday.

“This probably isn’t politically correct, but we haven’t played against good teams,” Ainge said. “I’m anxious to see how we can translate against four playoff teams that we’re going to play on this road trip. They’ll be tough games, very tough atmosphere, and we’ll see what the real improvement has been.”

Maine finishes the regular season at home at the Expo with a game against Fort Wayne April 2 and the final regular season game against Erie on April 3.

Free Throws”¦

The Red Claws made another transaction on March 19, picking up guard Brock Gillespie, and waiving rookie guard Terrel Harris. Gillespie, who played his college ball at Rice with fellow Red Claw teammate Morris Almond, joins the team from the Beirut Antranik in Lebanon, where he was averaging 27 points per game. Gillespie, playing in his second game with Maine, made two points, both on free throws, before sitting the rest of the second half, as Landry was too hot to bring back on the bench.

Ainge said Gillespie brings skilled passing to the Red Claws.

“Passing and leadership,” Ainge said. “He didn’t do anything wrong tonight, in the second half, Marcus was just on fire and I was looking for ways to keep him in the game.””¦

Maine center Kurt Looby is currently the leader in the D-League with 142 blocked shots. Looby is neck-and-neck with Sioux Falls center Greg Stiemsa, who has 140 on the season. Both players have already broken the league’s single season record, previously held by Keith Closs of Tulsa, who had 133 in 2007-2008.