Claws coach Scott Morrison certainly noticed it. And he showed the players film of their two sides to see how ugly selfishness made the offense.

Driving such points home in a league where it is in the best interest of the individual to stand out might be the most difficult part of Morrison’s job.  The Red Claws showed they got the message on Sunday, playing more unselfishly at the offensive end and more rigidly at the defensive end to defeat the Grand Rapids Drive, 116-93, at the Portland Expo.

“We weren’t perfect but the stretches of the bad team were much smaller today, for sure,” Morrison said.

Abdel Nader led all scorers with 33 points while Damion Lee added 24 points and seven assists for Maine (4-1). Jalen Jones added 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The Red Claws shook off a sputtering start offensively, trailing by seven after the first quarter, to shoot 50 percent from the floor (41-for-82), including 40 percent from the 3-point arc.

Maine locked down defensively in the second half, allowing just 36 points. Morrison chalked it up to better discipline and communication against the Drive’s pick-and-roll.

“I was pleased with the second-half defense,” Morrison said. “It was our best half of the season so far.”

“We took some bad shots in the first half which led them into some easy run-outs and some easy baskets,” Lee said. “But in the second half we really hung in,  came together, started to get some stops together and then we were able to convert at the offensive end.”

But first Maine needed a spark off the bench from JJ Panoske, who tallied all nine of his points and three rebounds in the second quarter.

Panoske, a 6-foot-11 stretch forward/center from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Coron Williams (11 points) highlighted a 20-6 Red Claws run in a sequence where Panoske tipped a deep rebound of a Maine miss out to Williams. From the top of the arc, Williams wove his way to the foul-line to draw the defense, then kicked out to Panoske for an open 3-pointer that made it 43-36 Maine.

“The biggest thing with me is taking advantage of what opportunities I get,” said Panoske, who finished with 12 minutes played. “With limited playing time off the bench, I’ve got to make sure I’m ready to play right away.”

Nader spent most of the quarter at the 3-point and free-throw lines en route to 14 points in the period as Maine took a 62-57 lead into halftime.

“He’s a big-time threat to score, but with that comes the responsibility to know when to make the pass when the defense comes to help and put two guys on him,” Morrison said

“I think it’s just about reading the situation,” Nader said. “If it’s a one-on-one, I think you’ve got to take it yourself. If you draw any help, you’ve always got to get it to the open guy. It’s simple. Keep it simple and it’s like you saw today.”

Maine’s most balanced quarter was the third, when Nader, Jones, Lee, Williams and Asauhn Dixon-Tatum (13 points, six rebounds) ranged between five and seven points apiece.

Lee, who shot 5-for-7 on 3-pointers, drilled a trey to send the lead into double digits for good at 73-63. Nader vaulted the margin past the 20-point mark later in the period with a 3-pointer followed by a coast-to-coast three-point play.

“My favorite part of Jones’ stat line was his seven assists,” Morrison said. “It’s the same with Nader (who had four assists). Those two guys are going to draw a lot of attention and they have to be willing to pass as well as score.”