The home team dominated at both ends of the court as it mixed impressive shooting with strong defense
Maccabi trampled Crvena Zvezda behind an aggressive approach
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 23 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv earned a morale-boosting 85-73 win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade after an inspired performance in the Serbian capital’s Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, giving its fans something to cheer about in an otherwise difficult season.
Having been forced to move its home fixtures from Israel for a second successive season, Maccabi silenced a predominantly Zvezda crowd in the gym and improved to 6-17, while the Serbian side slipped to 13-10 and now faces a tight battle to reach the playoffs.
Maccabi was buzzing from both inside and outside, shooting 12 of 23 from deep and 19 of 29 inside the three-point arc while forcing Zvezda to take a barrage of tough shots from all over.
The visiting team made a mere 19 of 41 from inside and 7 of 23 from downtown, a testament to Maccabi’s ironclad defense that knocked the Serbian side off its stride from the start.
Game Videos
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Tamir Blatt: 'We really needed this'
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Petrusev turns around and dunks! Motorola Magic Moment
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What a flowing move from Maccabi!
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Canaan does it all himself! Motorola Magic Moment
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Maccabi turns defense into offense! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Blatt finds Hoard! Motorola Magic Moment
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- 01:04
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Canaan wins it! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:17
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Bolomboy with on the alley oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:29
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Showtime from Yago and Mitrovic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:34
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Filip Petrusev: 'We showed our character and got the win'
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Davidovac nails a game-winner! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:58
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Jaylen Hoard: 'Happy about the way we played defense today'
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Joel Bolomboy: 'I missed basketball a lot'
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Roman Sorkin drives for a dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:58
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Nikola Kalinic: 'Tonight, we were amazing'
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Huge dunk from Kalinic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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Dobric steals and dunks! Motorola Magic Moment
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Hoard dunks off a Blatt alley-oop dish! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:58
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Isaiah Canaan: 'Tonight was a team victory'
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Cold-blooded Miller-McIntyre drains it! Motorola Magic Moment
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Gabriel’s block on Hernangomez! Motorola Magic Moment
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Dos Santos with a circus basket! Motorola Magic Moment
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Zvezda’s clutch player Isaiah Canaan, in devastating form recently, was limited to just 2 points – both of them from the foul line as he shot 0 of 6 from the floor with his markers hustling him all over the perimeter.
At the other end, player of the game Tamir Blatt scored 14 as he sank 4 of 5 from deep and managed 6 boards too, while John DiBartolomeo netted a team-high 15 on 5 of 7 shooting from deep.
Finally, Jaylen Hoard racked up 13 points to go with 2 assists and 4 steals as Maccabi dictated the pace throughout, with Blatt and head coach Oded Kattash underscoring just how much the win meant to the Israeli champs.
“We really needed it and we played great on both ends, most of all defensively,” Blatt said in his postgame comments. “Every game matters so we just have to keep fighting and build on this, trying to get as many wins as we can,” the playmaker added.
Kattash acknowledged that his team was hungry to snap its poor run in Europe’s premier club competition. “We headed into the game with the right energy and the right attitude, having won the battle of the boards and most of the 50-50 balls,” he said.
"We had a good week of practice and we played the right way at both ends of the court. We needed this one for our confidence, our fans and our people, as it hasn’t been easy for us this season. We came out aggressive and ready to play, so I think we deserved to win.”
The loss comes at a bad time for Zvezda ahead of what is certain to be rip-roaring Serbian derby at archrival Partizan Mozzartbet Belgrade next week, with head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos conceding that his men lacked focus and energy.
“In the third quarter we closed the gap from 15 points to 8 but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to knock Maccabi off their rhythm,” the Greek tactician told reporters at the postgame press conference.
“Tonight we weren’t aggressive and we need to change that. We were nervous and we didn’t take the right decisions because we were always one step behind and lacked concentration.”