Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv fought hard to pull out a 63-67 road win at TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday night.
Maccabi defense holds off Baskonia
Game Report
1 min read
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv fought hard to pull out a 63-67 road win at TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday night. It is the first time Maccabi won back-to-back games, improving its record to 5-8 - just two wins back behind the eighth place in the standings, while Baskonia dropped to 6-6 on the season. Baskonia had a double-digit lead in the first half, but Maccabi quickly rallied and the teams traded blows the rest of the way. Neither team had a lead bigger than 5 points in the second half and Maccabi stepped up defensively, holding the hosts to just 9 points in the final quarter to protect its slim lead. Tyler Dorsey led Maccabi with 15 points, including game-clinching free throws with 15 seconds to go. Othello Hunter added 12 points and Chris Jones netted 10 in a winning effort. Achille Polonara was everywhere for Baskonia with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals. Youssoupha Fall collected 14 points plus 6 rebounds and Pierria Henry had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in a losing effort.
Regular Season
Round 13 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Scottie Wilbekin opened the game with a triple, but the hosts scored the next 7 points with Tadas Sedekerskis hitting his first three of the season. Ante Zizic and Dragan Bender briefly got Maccabi going, tying the score at 9-9, but the hosts stormed ahead with a 9-0 run during which Polonara strung together 7 straight points, including a triple and a fastbreak alley-oop. Neither team scored for more than 3 minutes before Elijah Bryant hit a corner triple for Maccabi, but Tonye Jekiri's basket at the end of the first and Henry's floater to start the second opened a 22-12 margin. However, Maccabi answered with a run of 10 unanswered points, sparked by back-to-back triples from Dorsey and Yovel Zoosman. Also stepping up was Hunter with 6 points, offensive boards and delivering a big block as Maccabi went in front 24-28. Alec Peters scored a runner, but Hunter again scored inside and Dorsey nailed a right-corner triple to keep Maccabi in front. Henry scored 7 points late in the quarter for Baskonia, including a triple in the penultimate minute of the half, but the visitors went into halftime up 33-37.
Baskonia had a better start to the third quarter with Fall, Zoran Dragic and Polonara scoring all the points in an 8-2 run to restore the hosts' lead, 41-40. The teams traded close-range baskets and Baskonia found free-throw the free throw line to extend the lead 48-44 midway through the third. But Angelo Caloiaro and Jones sunk back-to-back threes to get Maccabi back in front. Jones and Caloiaro also each added a close-range basket to help Maccabi take a 54-56 lead into the third quarter. Baskets were few and far between at the start of the fourth, with a put-back from Rokas Giedraitis on one end and a triple from Jones on the other the only baskets in the first 4 minutes. Hunter's layup on Wilbekin's assist made it 56-61. Peters and Polonara got Baskonia back within a single point, but a runner from Bryant and Dorsey's driving layup made it 60-65. Polonara hit a triple with 1:54 to go as it was clear the game will go down to the wire, but the hosts never scored again as Dorsey's free throws with 15 seconds left sealed the outcome.
Game Leaders
Key run
Maccabi's 2-16 run early in the second quarter did not decide the game, but it did turn a 10-point deficit into a 24-28 lead and it put Maccabi in control after a slow start.
Key contributor
During that run, Othello Hunter scored 8 of his 12 points and also had 3 of his 4 offensive rebounds plus a blocked shot. He accumulated a PIR of 15 during that stretch, changing the outlook of the game.
Bench rules
No Maccabi starter scored more than 5 points, which was how many points Scottie Wilbekin and Elijah Bryant each had in this game. But the visitors' bench stepped up, outscoring Baskonia's bench 49-13.
Baskonia trio
Youssoupha Fall was a force in the paint for Baskonia in the first three quarters. He had 14 points on 4-for-4 two-point shooting, made 6 of 6 foul shots and pulled down 6 rebounds. But he committed his fourth personal foul with 2.1 seconds left in third quarter and never returned to the game. Baskonia had fantastic all-round efforts from Achille Polonara and Pierria Henry who combined for 26 points and 13 rebounds. Polonara had 5 blocks, Henry had 4 steals, but it was not enough for the hosts.