Zalgiris comes out empty-handed in Tel Aviv 37
Maccabi Tel Aviv registered its third consecutive win, using its best defensive effort of the season en route to a 76-62 victory over visiting Zalgiris Kaunas at Menora Mivtachim Arena on Tuesday night.
It was Maccabi’s third consecutive win that improved it to 4-2, while Zalgiris remains the only winless team after Round 6.
Derrick Williams collected 17 points plus 7 rebounds and Ante Zizic had 14 points and 9 rebounds in a victory. James Nunnally scored 15, and Keenan Evans 13 points for Maccabi.
Arturas Milaknis netted 17 points on 5-for-9 three-point shooting for Zalgiris, and Josh Nebo had 10 points and 9 rebounds in a losing effort.
In the opening 3 minutes of the game, Zizic and Williams scored twice each before Evans launched a pair of fast breaks as the hosts opened a 14-2 lead. Janis Strelnieks snapped a 14-0 run with a triple before Milaknis scored 11 consecutive points, including back-to-back-to-back threes that put Zalgiris in front 14-16. Lukas Lekavicius and Paulius Jankunas helped the visitors to a 16-20 lead after 10 minutes.
Nunnally opened the scoring in the second with a transition triple, before Williams had a monster dunk and a three-point play to restore Maccabi’s lead, 24-22. After a jumper from Strelnieks, Nunnally, Williams and Zizic put together an 8-0 run to open a 32-24 margin. Emmanuel Mudiay ended that run, and Nebo kept the visitors in range with a floater, but Kameron Taylor hit a triple to help Maccabi to a 39-30 halftime lead.
Evans had a pair of runners to increase the margin to 13 points, but Niels Giffey scored 5 points, including a triple, to keep the visitors in range. But Williams hit from the outside and Nunnally twice inside to make it 53-39. A pair of baskets from Lekavicius got the margin back to single digits, but Jalen Reynolds finished the quarter with a three-point play to make it 58-46 going into the final 10 minutes.
Reynolds opened the fourth quarter with a close-range basket before a triple from Williams sparked a 7-0 run that blew the game wide open, 67-48. Milaknis hit from long range twice, with Mantas Kalnietis scoring twice in between, giving the visitors a glimmer of hope. Zalgiris held Maccabi without a field goal for more than 5 minutes as the visitors cut it to 72-62, but Nunnally iced the game with 90 seconds to go.
Facebook comments