Among his feats, the Maccabi center tied a club playoff record with 10 two-point baskets
Dominant Josh Nebo inspired Maccabi in Game 3
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Josh Nebo was a one-man wrecking ball for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, producing a series of highlight reel dunks to power his team to a thrilling 85-83 victory and a 2-1 series lead over Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.
After watching teammate Bonzie Colson score the first two baskets, Nebo decided he fancied getting involved and delivered his first exclamation mark with a show-stopping dunk. That proved to be merely the first of many, setting the tone for a career-best performance that saw the Maccabi center tie his personal high with 22 points
Nebo’s tally came with impressive efficiency as he converted 10 of his 13 two-point attempts, tying his team’s playoff record for two-point conversions alongside Sofoklis Schortsanitis from a 2011 victory at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
As the league’s leading rebounder, Nebo didn’t overlook his board duties either, grabbing a game-high 9 rebounds, including 4 at the offensive end. Adding in 2 steals and a blocked shot allowed Nebo to compile a PIR of 31, the fourth-highest in Maccabi’s storied playoff history.
Nebo’s dominant display was all the more impressive for the fact that he had been held to just 6 points and 3 rebounds in Game 2, when Maccabi was brushed aside by a dynamic Panathinaikos performance for a 95-79 victory in Athens. Nebo’s playing time was cut short in that game, fouling out after less than 20 minutes as he struggled to handle the Greens' star big man Mathias Lessort.
This time around Nebo played nearly half an hour as he committed just 1 foul while drawing 5, allowing him to outscore and outrebound Lessort – who still managed to make his own impact with 14 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds.
The battle of giants will continue on Thursday, and Nebo will be aware of the need to compete for the full 40 minutes after his team nearly let a comfortable lead slip in the face of a furious fourth-quarter comeback.
"We had a big lead and kind of stopped playing,” Nebo admitted. “We started to watch the clock, waiting for the game to finish versus keep on playing
“It’s human nature. Whenever you have a big lead it’s human nature to relax, and the other team’s hungry. [We have to] just keep playing and not relax. It’s not over yet. They’re a very good team so we have to come ready to play Game 4.”