The hosts fired on all cylinders from beyond the arc to snap three-game slide
Maccabi feeds off buzzing crowd to break down Zalgiris’s defense
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 22 of 38
Regular Season
Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
10097
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
Overview
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv playing at Menora Mivtachim Arena is a whole different beast. The Israeli side returned home with a 100-97 win over Zalgiris Kaunas following a three-game losing run on the road.
Boosted by the home crowd, Maccabi found ways to break down one of the stingiest EuroLeague defenses by sharing the ball well and firing on all cylinders from deep.
The hosts fed off the energy transmitted by the crowd throughout the game to pull off a sublime offensive display against a team that conceded a league second-lowest 81.3 points per game heading into Thursday’s clash.
“We are a really good offensive team, it’s kind of what we do,” Will Rayman said after the game. “We move the ball. We have bigs and scoring guards who can score and create. I feel that we can do that against anybody.”
In fact, Maccabi reached the 81-point mark just seconds into the fourth quarter, with Roman Sorkin draining one of his team’s 15 triples on the night to make it 81-74.
“Just being home is so fun,” Sorkin told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We’ve missed [the fans] so much. It’s the second game we play this season here and I think that the fans are giving us so much energy and drive. It’s like the sixth player for us. We play so much better here. It’s not an excuse, but we really like playing at home. I feel like everybody brings his A game and there is more energy. It’s something that when you are not feeling it, you can’t really explain it.”
In a back-and-forth affair that had fans on the edge of their seats, Zalgiris didn’t hesitate to match Maccabi’s pace as the two teams traded blows in the first half, with the hosts taking a 52-49 edge at halftime.
Maccabi kicked off the second half with a 9-2 run that opened a double-digit lead, but Zalgiris fought back, with a late triple from Sylvain Francisco trimming the deficit to 78-71 heading into the closing quarter.
The Israeli side never surrendered its lead, but Francisco’s fifth triple of the game cut the difference to 99-97 with 8 seconds left on the clock. Jimmy Clark drew a foul and missed one of his two free throws, giving Zalgiris the opportunity to send the game to extra time.
Yet, Azuolas Tubelis turned over his inbounds pass and despite Marcio Santos’s error on the other end, Maodo Lo missed his midcourt triple attempt and Maccabi clinched the victory, with the fans erupting in the stands.
“It was so loud there in the third and fourth quarter, it was huge for us,” TJ Leaf said after the game. “Without that, I’m not sure how that game ends. It’s so fun being out there. With that crowd behind you and that place just rocking, there’s nothing like it. It’s really such a blast playing basketball in front of this crowd. I cherish every second that I’m out there.”
Leaf went 8-for-11 from inside the arc, with Sorkin going 7-for-9 from the field and Jimmy Clark drilling a career-high 4 triples to finish the game on 17 points each. Six players recorded at least 2 assists apiece, with the hosts registering a total of 24.
With a demanding road clash away at Olympiacos Piraeus set to open the upcoming double-round week, Oded Kattash’s side will look to emulate their home form on the road. Their fans will not be there to give them a boost, but Maccabi demonstrated on Thursday that they boast the offensive prowess to trouble any team.
