The Red Claws went up 20 before halftime in a game Springfield was never really in.
Carleton Scott, right, had 15 points and nine rebounds Monday in a lifeless Armor effort.
By KEVIN THOMAS
PORTLAND, Maine – The Springfield Armor continued to struggle with their offense Monday afternoon.
But coach Bob MacKinnon was more concerned with what his players did when they didn’t have the basketball – not enough.
As a result, Springfield dropped a 105-84 decision to the Maine Red Claws in front of a sold-out Portland Expo crowd of 3,045.
“It was more (a problem) defensively,” MacKinnon said. “We needed to put stops together. They’d get on a roll and we needed stops.”
Maine jumped to a 20-point lead by the second quarter. Springfield rallied in spurts, but never cut the deficit below 14.
“We’d work it down, but we couldn’t get over the hump,” said forward Carleton Scott, who led the Armor with 15 points and nine rebounds. “We kept fighting, but we’d run into a wall. And they’d throw another big flurry at us.”
Maine (10-5), which leads the NBA Development League’s East Division, had five players score in double figures, led by Micah Downs and DaJuan Summers, who both pumped in 23 points.
The Armor (4-8) not only lost their third straight, but are 1-7 in their last eight. Springfield remains in fourth place in the five-team East.
“We just haven’t executed like we have been in practice,” Scott said. “We’ve had some great practices, but that hasn’t translated to the game.”
The Armor were again without the services of leading scorer and rebounder James Mays. The 6-foot-8 forward has missed three games because of the flu.
“He’s one of our leaders. He brings great energy for us,” Scott said. “When you lose a guy like that, it hurts the team. But in this league, you have to know how to play without somebody.”
MacKinnon said Mays is under doctor’s orders not to travel and is unsure when he will return.
“But one guy doesn’t make that big a difference,” MacKinnon said. “It’s a collective effort. Today, we didn’t have a collective effort.”
Springfield shot 42 percent but allowed Maine to shoot 49 percent. Plus, the Armor were awful at the free-throw line (8 for 18).
Besides Scott, Springfield had four others in double figures – Ben Uzoh and Ramone Moore (14 points apiece), Shawn Vanzant (11) and Christian Polk (10).
Vanzant went down in pain with 4:37 left and was helped off the court, favoring his left leg. MacKinnon said he would be evaluated Tuesday.
The Red Claws were down to eight players, missing two starters because of concussions, including 7-foot center Fab Melo, assigned to Maine by the Boston Celtics.
Scott started the scoring with a 3-pointer, and the Armor led 10-8 when Cliff Tucker hit another 3. Then Maine went on a 10-2 run and Springfield never caught up.
“I think we played some of the best defense we’ve played all season,” Red Claws coach Mike Taylor said.
The Red Claws had extra motivation to play well, with Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge in attendance alongside son Austin, Boston’s director of player personnel.
This was the first of nine meetings between the two New England rivals, who meet five times in January.
The Armor return to the MassMutual Center Thursday for a 7 p.m. game against the Canton Charge.