Maccabi’s strong finish buries Zalgiris 29
Maccabi Tel Aviv escaped from Zalgirio Arena with a hard-fought 81-88 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday night.
Dragan Bender had career-highs in points (16) and PIR (15) to lead the winners, who improved to 12-17. Chris Jones followed him with an all-around performance of 13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals, good for a career-best in PIR of 21. Scottie Wilbekin and Elijah Bryant netted 12 points each and Ante Zizic posted 10 and 6 rebounds for the Israeli champs.
Nigel Hayes scored career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 field goal shooting, also registering his best mark in PIR (30). Marius Grigonis knocked down 14 points and dished 6 assists and Rokas Jokubaitis scored 11 in defeat.
Four different Zalgiris players scored on a 9-2 opening run. Maccabi called for a timeout, right before Angelo Caloiaro and Wilbekin accounted for a triple and a three-point play, respectively, to make it 12-8. Hayes showed up then to score 7 points in a row, giving the hosts a double-digit lead, 19-8. The visitors struggled to keep the ball safe in offense, which allowed Hayes to extend the margin to 23-10 after another steal. Omri Casspi took over for the Yellows with 6 points in a row and Jones followed with a jumper to reduce the deficit, even though Jokubaitis drilled a corner three to close the first quarter with Zalgiris ahead, 26-18.
Maccabi had a strong start in the second, going on a 2-10 run that got it all square after 12 minutes. Zalgiris tried to stop it with a timeout, but Bender scored a layup to complete the comeback and put the visitors in front, 28-30. The hosts found some relief from behind the arc as Thomas Walkup, Paulius Jankunas and Hayes connected on a three each to recover a 37-33 edge. Hayes and Augustine Rubit kept delivering from the line, but a timely corner triple by John DiBartolomeo helped Maccabi reach halftime trailing 40-38.
Walkup and Grigonis got Zalgiris going with a three-point play and a three-pointer early in the third that returned a comfortable 46-38 advantage to the hosts. Oz Blayzer held the guests with a strong block and a three, as Jones followed with a pair of jumpers to bring Maccabi within 48-45. Both teams traded baskets until Bryant showed up with a three and a couple of free throws to tie it again, 55-55. Dorsey got Maccabi ahead again, 57-58, as the lead switched 6 times for the following 2 minutes until a bucket by Bryant closed the third with the visitors leading 63-64.
Lauvergne took over on the offensive glass for Zalgiris, but Bender replied in style with back-to-back triples that kept the Yellows up, 69-70. The hosts reacted with a 7-0 run capped by a difficult bucket by Hayes to make another turnaround, 76-70. Maccabi didn’t panic, though, as Zizic delivered a couple of buckets inside, Wilbekin connected from deep and Jones scored free throws to tie it again, 79-79, entering crunch time. Jokubaitis hit a jumper that brought the lead back to Zalgiris, but he missed the next two as Maccabi found first Bryant from behind the arc, then Zizic inside to get an 81-84 edge. A turnover by Walkup was followed by a layup by Wilbekin with 22 seconds to go that sealed the visitor’s victory.
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