Long Island Nets fall to Maine Celtics, 120-100, set franchise record for consecutive losses

Not a good night for Long Island. Down three players, they lose another in Jacky Cui and break the franchise record for consecutive losses with eight.

The Long Island Nets met the Maine Celtics on Wednesday evening and once again looked outmatched, losing, 120-100, their eighth straight defeat and a new franchise record. Long Island dropped to 2-11, the G League’s worst record. However, the big game story may be less about the outcome of the contest and more about the severity of the left leg injury suffered by Jacky Cui.

The 21-year-old went down with a left leg injury late in the second quarter. With under two minutes left before halftime, Cui’s left knee buckled on an awkward landing while trying to snag a rebound. Cui was immediately in a lot of pain and was unable to stand. He had to be physically carried off the court by team trainers who held his leg up the whole time.

The Nets have not provided an medical update on Cui as of Thursday morning.

Cui, of course, is one of the Brooklyn Nets’ three two-way players, and the first Chinese player in the NBA in six years. Before the injury, Cui was on his way to having his second solid game for Long Island. He played a very physical game, picking up four rebounds and three assists as well as two points in only 10 minutes. He had scored 14 points in 21 minutes two nights earlier.

Aside from the injury and the record-setting loss, Wednesday night saw the Long Island Nets debut of Brooklyn Nets two-way player, Tyrese Martin. Martin finished with 18 points, second only to Dariq Whitehead. Martin also picked up five rebounds, four assists, and two massive blocks.

Martin was a very welcomed addition for Long Island. His debut comes a day after Long Island lost AJ Lawson, who signed with the Toronto Raptors on a two-way deal. It’s very big shoes to fill, with Lawson having averaged 24 points a game so far, Martin is a guy who can give a team a lot of points, as we saw in his time in Brooklyn.

Despite again leading the team in scoring, Whitehead missed a lot of his shots, hitting only seven out of his 20 field goal attempts. Whitehead also went 2-for-8 from deep but continued to contribute in other ways, picking up eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Over his last four games in Long Island, Whitehead is averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists on shooting splits of 41/32/67. Despite the rough 3-point numbers, it’s easily his best stretch since being drafted. He also had an 18 point game for Brooklyn last week.

And just as this was certainly not Whitehead’s best game shooting the ball, the same can be said for Killian Hayes.

Hayes finished with only six points. He only connected on three of his 13-shot attempts, missing both of his tries from deep. However, he picked up nine assists, continuing to show he may never be much of a scorer, but can excel as a playmaker, unselfishly getting everyone on the team involved and on the stat sheet.

This game also saw the return of Jaylen Martin, his first game back since he suffered a right knee injury back on November 24th against Toronto. He finished the game with 10 points, one assist, and one steal from the bench.

The game itself didn’t go so bad for Long Island. To start the first quarter, the two teams went back and forth giving each other everything they had. Long Island tried to keep it close, but Maine pulled away, picking up a nearly 20-point lead by the half.

Long Island tried to make a comeback in the third quarter, but it was not to be, as Maine pulled away by the start of the fourth quarter by nearly 30 points. The fourth quarter turned out to be the best for Long Island, but Maine was too far gone, as Long Island once again fell, 120-100.

The Long Island Nets were without Amari Bailey (right knee soreness), Kendall Brown (left adductor soreness), and Mark Armstrong (left ankle sprain). There is not yet a timetable for their return. Bailey has arguably been one of the team’s brightest spots, and it’ll be challenging to navigate games without him.

In their absence, 6’8” local tryout Jordan Minor recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two steals and an 8-of-10 shooting night, all in 28 minutes, his best game so far.

After the game, Tyrese and Jaylen Martin both spoke to NetsDaily about their night.

Jaylen Martin’s Work Is Paying Off

This game marked Jaylen Martin’s first game back since his injury suffered on Sunday, November 24th, when Long Island was in Toronto to take on the Raptors 905.

Martin kept it short, “It was just good getting back on the court,” says Martin. “I love the game of basketball and I was eager to get back out there.” Martin had a respectable performance tonight in his first game back, and he is very thankful for everyone.

“It felt good,” says Martin. “I just want to thank the performance team and coaching staff for preparing me, helping me strengthen back up, and keeping me sharp. It’s good to see the work is paying off.”

Tyrese Martin Wants To Bring Brooklyn to Long Island

The game also marked the debut of Brooklyn Nets two-way player, Tyrese Martin. Martin was happy to get to be able to “play again.” “I like getting minutes,” says Martin. “So to come down and play basketball felt good.”

Coming from Brooklyn, Martin said he learned some stuff he was able to bring with him to Long Island and apply. “Quick decisions on the offensive end,” says Martin. “I want to try and come down here and be a leader for these guys and implement what the standard is in Brooklyn and try to bring it down here.”

First and foremost for Tyrese, he wants wins. “I know what it’s like for the standard, being in Brooklyn for a majority of the time, but when I’m down here I want to try and be my best and bring what I learned up there and try to do it down here the same way.”

Next Up

Next up for Long Island, they travel to take on the Capital City Go-Go on Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The game tips off at 3:00 p.m. ET. You can watch it on the NBA G-League and Long Island Nets’ respective websites.

• Boxscore: Maine Celtics 120, Long Island Nets 100 – G League
• Hot-Shooting Maine Celtics Defeat Nets – G League