Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
GSO Swarm 112
Maine Celtics 90
The Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, secured the franchise’s first-ever playoff win, defeating the seventh-seeded Maine Celtics wire-to-wire, 112-90, to open the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google.
Playing in its first-ever home playoff game Tuesday, Greensboro earned home-court advantage after placing a 24-12 record in the regular season, while Maine notched an 18-18 record in the span. With the win, the No. 2-seeded Greensboro Swarm will return to Novant Health Fieldhouse on Friday to host its NBA G League Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the winner of the Cleveland Charge (3) and Capital City Go-Go (6).
Defensive prowess and ball movement led the way Tuesday, as Greensboro held Maine to the fewest points scored against the Swarm this season while also placing 20 assists in the game.
All five Swarm starters finished in double figures, led by 18 points apiece from PJ Hall and Marcus Garrett. Jaylen Sims added 16 points, while Tidjane Salaün recorded a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with nine points. Greensboro shot 48.8 percent (42-of-86) from the field and 36.1 percent (13-of-36) from beyond the arc.
Maine was led by 22 points from John Tonje, while Jalen Bridges added 19 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three. Amari Williams provided a spark off the bench with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Hason Ward chipped in nine points and seven boards. Keon Johnson, who led the team in scoring in March, closed the night with eight points on 3-of-17 shooting.
As a team, the Celtics shot 40.2 percent (33-of-82) from the field and 34.3 percent (12-of-35) from beyond the arc.
Next up, the Swarm return to Novant Health Fieldhouse for its NBA G League Eastern Conference Semifinals clash versus the Cleveland Charge (3) or Capital City Go-Go (6). With the game’s time to be announced, fans can visit the following website for ticket information: https://greensboro.gleague.nba.com/single-game-tickets.
