2014-15Top 16Round 2
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 78
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade 67
January 08, 2015 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Maccabi Electra outruns Crvena Zvezda

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv overcame Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade 78-67 on Thursday in the first Top 16 game at the renamed Menora Mivtachim Arena. Brian Randle collected 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals and Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 15 points for the reigning champs, who improved to 1-1 in Group E, while keeping Zvezda winless. Maccabi led by as many as 10 in the second quarter, but Nikola Kalinic helped the visitors narrow the gap to 37-33 at halftime before taking the lead in the third quarter. However Maccabi entertained with several alley-oops as it regained control and pushed the lead to as high as 18 in the fourth quarter to claim the victory. Jeremy Pargo added 12 points, Yogev Ohayon totaled 10 points, 8 assists and 3 steals and Sylven Landesberg also scored 10 for the winners. Kalinic led Zvezda with 18 points, Marcus Williams recorded 13 points and 9 assists and Boban Marjanovic finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Maccabi’s Devin Smith received his bwin MVP for December award prior to tipoff from Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu.

First quarter: Schortsanitis, Tyus ignite the hosts

Maccabi won the opening tip and went inside to Schortsanitis, who drew Marjanovic’s first foul just seconds into the contest. Maccabi continued to feed Big Sofo, who scored twice as the hosts started 5-0. Nemanja Dangubic got Zvezda on the scoreboard with a three from the top of the key. After Marjanovic stuffed Schortsanitis, Marcus Williams gave the visitors the lead with a triple. Schortsanitis stepped outside and hit a jumper to make it 7-6. The lead switched hands on the next several scores, with Pargo and Luka Mitrovic trading slams. Alex Tyus came in and picked up where Schortsanitis left off with a bucket in the paint to make it 13-10. Marjanovic muscled his way to a slam at one end, but Tyus answered quickly. A Kalinic triple tied the game at 15-15. Pargo found an open Ohayon for a layup and then Tyus for an alley-oop slam. Kalinic’s second triple brought the visitors within 1. Ohayon’s layup past the outstretched arm of Marjanovic made it 21-18 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: After Maccabi pushed lead to 10, Kalinic carries Zveada back

Landesberg nailed a jumper and Mitrovic a layup in the first minute of the quarter. Randle used a spin move to get his first basket. Kalninic fought his way inside to keep the score even. Landesberg hit a long jumper to put the hosts up 5. A Kalinic bounce pass left Maik Zirbes open for a slam. Randle tipped in a Schortsanitis miss and finished a fast break with a slam to make it 31-24 before Zvezda called timeout four minutes into the quarter. Pargo connected on a long two-pointer only to see Kalinic get to the basket for a three-point play seconds later. Landesberg scored twice in transition as the difference reached double figures, 37-27. Kalinic countered with a three-pointer and Marjanovic banked in a jumper to bring the visitors within 37-33 at the break.

Third quarter: Zvezda moves in front, but Ohayon helped hosts regain lead

Marjanovic’s tip in and a Kalinic slam tied the game less than one minute into the second half. Pargo’s deep three at the end of the 24-second buzzer was met by a Williams triple to make it 40-40. Williams finished a break with a Williams layup for the visitors’ first lead since early in the first quarter. An Ohayon three-pointer briefly put the hosts back ahead, but Kalinic continued his monster game with a floater in the paint. Ohayon picked up a loose ball and took it for a layup and a 45-44 lead. Randle and Marjanovic traded baskets inside. The same players then swapped free throws. Schortsanitis scored over Marjanovic on the offensive glass and Ohayon whipped a great pass to Randle for a slam and a 53-48 lead. Schortsanitis free throws increased the margin to 56-49.

Fourth quarter: Maccabi pulls away with time to spare

Big Sofo continued to get to the line and the Maccabi defense continued to deny Zvezda. Mitrovic finally hit a three to make it 58-52. Smith’s first points of the night came from downtown and Ohayon sent Landesberg a great pass for an easy score and an 11-point advantage. After a Zvezda timeout, Brank Lazic buried a three. Pargo ignited the crowd with a tough three to make it 66-55. Randle added free throws for a 13-point cushion with five minutes remaining. Williams went through the Maccabi defense for a layup. But Pargo added free throws and assisted to Randle for an alley-oop slam as the lead hit 72-57. Zirbes got to the line for 2 points, but Smith scored the next 5 points to end any doubt at 77-59 as the champs claimed another home win.

Thursday, January 8, 2015
Euroleague.net

Referees: GARCIA, JUAN CARLOS; CONDE, ANTONIO; PAPAPETROU, PETROS
Attendance: 11060
By Quarter1234
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv21161922
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade18151618
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv21375678
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade18334967
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PARGO, JEREMY 31:17 12 2/5 2/4 2/2   6 6 6   5 1 1 3 4 15
5 HAYNES, MARQUEZ 12:14     0/3   1   1 1 2 1     3   -3
6 SMITH, DEVIN 28:20 8 1/4 2/7   2 8 10 3 1 1   1 3 2 11
7 RANDLE, BRIAN 32:04 16 6/6 0/1 4/4 3 6 9 1 4 2 1   3 4 29
9 TYUS, ALEX 19:12 7 3/4   1/4 2 2 4 1   1 2   1 2 10
11 COHEN, JAKE 0:48                              
12 OHAYON, YOGEV 35:54 10 3/4 1/3 1/2 1 4 5 8 3 2     3 2 19
14 HARARI, ARAD DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 LANDESBERG, SYLVEN 19:40 10 5/10 0/1     1 1     1     2 1 3
21 SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS 20:31 15 4/10   7/10 2 3 5 1 1 4 1 1 2 7 14
23 ALEXANDER, JOE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 78 24/43 5/19 15/22 12 30 42 21 11 17 5 3 20 22 99
        55.8% 26.3% 68.2%
Head coach: GOODES, GUY
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 WILLIAMS, MARCUS 26:43 13 3/8 2/8 1/2 2 2 4 9 1 6     2 5 12
4 REBIC, NIKOLA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 DANGUBIC, NEMANJA 13:33 5 1/3 1/3     1 1   1       2   1
9 MITROVIC, LUKA 23:59 7 2/6 1/3   1 1 2 2   2 1 1 1 2 4
10 LAZIC, BRANKO 23:26 3 0/1 1/2   1 1 2         1 3   -1
11 BLAZIC, JAKA 16:43 7 0/1 1/5 4/6 3 5 8     3     2 7 10
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 25:27 18 4/7 3/4 1/1 1 1 2 2   4     4 1 11
13 MARJANOVIC, BOBAN 27:55 10 4/10   2/2 3 5 8 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 13
15 TEJIC, MARKO 1:24                              
22 JENKINS, CHARLES 17:30   0/2 0/3     2 2   2 1     3   -5
24 JOVIC, STEFAN 11:32   0/1 0/1     1 1 2 1 1     1 2 2
33 ZIRBES, MAIK 11:48 4 1/4   2/2 3   3 1       1 2 1 3
Team           4 3 7               7
Totals 200:00 67 15/43 9/29 10/13 18 22 40 17 6 18 3 5 22 20 57
        34.9% 31% 76.9%
Head coach: RADONJIC, DEJAN

Head Coaches

GOODES, GUY
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
“I am happy with this win; we knew it would not be an easy game, but I think we deserved the win. [Brian] Randle did great, but it was the whole team that brought the win. Before the game we spoke about the importance of playing a strong defensive game. We succeeded in a lot of the things that we had prepared before the game, although I think we still could have scored more points. One of the things I told the players in the locker room is that we can beat any team. Also against Barcelona. Barcelona is an excellent team, but this is also a game we can win. When we are on our court, and if we play well and aggressive. With the help of the crowd we have here, we can beat all the teams.”
RADONJIC, DEJAN
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
“It was difficult to deal with the high-quality transition offense. We made too many mistakes offensively in the turnovers and we allowed them to score easy fast breaks in transition. We had a good result with some turnovers in the first half, but they had too many offensive rebounds, so Maccabi had a big advantage and they easily finished the game with this."

Players

SMITH, DEVIN
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
“It was a team win. Everybody came in the game and gave something, and that’s part of winning – playing together, playing the right way and winning as a team. I think we were good defensively. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, but defensively we were pretty solid. We try and take it game by game. The coaches prepare a good game plan. I’m sure they will prepare us the right way and it is our job to come out and give maximum effort.”
RANDLE, BRIAN
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
“Every game is its own. This is good for moral and I guess good for momentum, but before next week we have a game on Monday, so we need this to transition to that one. Hopefully we will do well and that will transition to Barcelona. We have improved for sure, from the start till now. Last week was a tough one for us – to give up a lead and not be able to get it back was obviously hard because we wanted to steal one on the road. But every game we are trying to do what we can and today we got a W."
MARJANOVIC, BOBAN
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
“We gave them too many fast breaks and we lost too many balls to their team. We cannot allow too many fast breaks. And I think we also lost on rebounds. This is just one game. We have more games. We are going to see what is good and what is bad and get feedback for the next game. I felt great playing here. I’ve played here in Tel Aviv a few times and I always feel great in the atmosphere here.”