PORTLAND — Amidst a smattering of Celtics No. 8 jerseys and at least one fan with his beard painted green, the Maine Red Claws welcomed former All-Star forward Antoine Walker to Maine, and picked up a win.

Four games into his NBA comeback attempt, Walker scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to keep the Red Claws from holding off the Idaho Stampede, 105-99, before a sellout crowd of 3,045 at the Portland Expo Thursday night.

DeShawn Sims led six Red Claws in double figures with 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Maine led by as much as 17 in the second half.

Yet, Walker, who played a season-high 33 minutes, had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds. The shot went around the rim and out, and Maine pulled away for its fourth victory in the season’s first 10 games.

Walker showed flashes of what made him a three-time NBA All-Star for the Boston Celtics.

“I’m getting better and better. It’s the fourth game,” Walker said. “I finished a lot better around the rim. There’s still small things that I want to be able to do as I  continue to play and get in better shape.”

“He’s clever, he’s big, and he’s got good footwork,” Maine coach Austin Ainge said. “He just tricked our guys four or five times.”

Walker started for Idaho and, after missing his first shot of the game, made four straight, scoring first on a runner while taking a bump from Chamberlain Oguchi.

Walker followed that with a strip of 310-pound Maine forward Tiny Gallon in the post, then scored over Gallon on a nice spin in the lane and jump hook. He scored eight of the Stampede’s first 15 points before heading to the bench with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

Gallon (16 points) and Gallon battled for much of the first half, even though both aren’t near peak playing shape.

“I would love to see him maybe 20 pounds lighter,” Walker said of Gallon. “He can be a monster. He definitely could play at the next level because  of his size and his hands. It’s a rarity guys that big can do what he can do.”

“I thought Tiny actually played horrible defense,” Ainge said. “But he played a pretty good game. He made some good passes and played very well offensively in the first half. The second half he got a little bit sloppy. I think he got tired because he hasn’t been practicing with the bad back.”

Walker returned to the court with 9:40 to go in the second quarter and missed his first 3-point attempt 30 seconds later. Gallon scored over Walker from in close moments later to tie the game at 32.

That sparked a 7-0 run with which Maine took the lead for good. Walker broke the string with a short jumper in the lane, then missed another 3-pointer.

Walker responded to another Gallon hoop by taking him off the dribble from the top of the key, driving into the lane before throwing in a running hook from eight feet.

Yet despite Walker’s game-high 14 points in the first half, the Red Claws were able to take a 61-51 lead into the intermission thanks to a pair of Oguchi 3-pointers.

Walker hit his first 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but Maine kept the lead around 10 throughout the quarter. Idaho opened the fourth quarter on a 13-0 run with Walker out of the game and eventually took the lead when Luke Babbitt converted a Maine turnover into a layup with 5:52 remaining.

The Stampede got as close as one point twice more, both times on Walker scores. His 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:08 remaining made it 98-97. After a Jamar Smith layup made it 100-97, Walker had a chance to tie it on a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, but it rimmed out.

“He played well,” Idaho coach Randy Livingston said. “I thought he got tired there in the third quarter. I thought he was excited and energized early in the game, which was good.”

After a game in Springfield on Saturday, Walker and the Stampede return to Portland for a 5 p.m. game on Sunday.

“This is home for me,” Walker said. “I’ve been saying that through my whole career even though I won a championship in Miami. The eight years that I spent up here has been tremendous. The reception I got (Thursday) was heartfelt. It makes me want to work hard to get back to that level.”