2019-20Regular SeasonRound 19
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 92
FC Barcelona 85
January 14, 2020 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Maccabi outlasts Barcelona at home

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv remained undefeated at home in the EuroLeague by topping FC Barcelona 92-85 on Tuesday. Both teams now have 13-6 records in the standings, as does CSKA Moscow. Tyler Dorsey led the winners with 19 points, Scottie Wilbekin added 18, Angelo Caloiaro had 12 and Othello Hunter 10 for Maccabi. Nikola Mirotic paced Barcelona with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Cory Higgins and Malcolm Delaney each added 13 points, Ante Tomic 11 and Kyle Kuric 10. The game was tied, 56-56, late in the third quarter, but three-pointers by Nate Wolters, Caloiaro and Dorsey set a 65-57 Maccabi margin after 30 minutes. Dorsey and Caloiaro took over in the fourth quarter, as Maccabi managed to stay ahead and seal the outcome on a three-point shot by Wilbekin in the final minute.

Mirotic got Barcelona going with a long jumper which Tomic followed with a jump hook. Elijah Bryant stepped up with a backdoor layup, igniting a 6-0 run in which Yovel Zoosman added consecutive baskets. Wilbekin buried a three-pointer, but Higgins kept the hosts within 9-8. Higgins kept pushing Barcelona only to see Zoosman and Wilbekin give Maccabi the lead, 13-12. Higgins downed a stop-and-pop triple, Mirotic scored down low and Davies added a three-point play that gave Barcelona a 15-20 margin. Davies followed a dunk with a fastbreak layup that prompted Maccabi to call timeout at 18-24. Delaney struck from beyond the arc before Jalen Reynolds got Maccabi within 20-27 after 10 minutes. Kuric improved on Jake Cohen's layup with a bomb from downtown early in the second quarter. Maccabi found a go-to guy in Dorsey, who buried a couple of three-pointers in an 11-2 run in which Jake Cohen also struck from beyond the arc and added a layup for a 33-32 score. Mirotic stepped up for Barcelona and Tomic banked in a jump hook to put Barcelona back ahead, 35-36. Mirotic nailed a three-pointer, but Jake Cohen and Hunter got the hosts within 38-39. Deni Avdija joined the three-point shootout and Wilbekin added 7 quick points, including a rainbow jumper and a bomb from downtown, to give Maccabi a 48-41 margin at halftime.

Mirotic bettered Hunter's tip-in with a triple soon after the break. Claver and Tomic each scored twice in the paint to bring Barcelona within 54-52. Reynolds dunked, but a red-hot Tomic erased it with a jump hook and Higgins added a step-back jumper for a 56-56 tie. Wolters came off the bench and immediately delivered with a three-pointer. Caloiaro and Dorsey also struck from beyond the arc to cap a 9-0 Maccabi run, giving the hosts a 65-56 cushion, which Tomic cut to 65-57 after 30 minutes. Dorsey sank back-to-backs three-pointers to make it a double-digit game, 71-59, early in the fourth quarter. Kuric, Mirotic and Pierre Oriola each answered from downtown to bring Barcelona back to life, 71-68, with over 6 minutes left. Caloiaro hit a floater off the baseline and Hunter added a layup that caused the visitors to stop the game at 75-68. Aaron Jackson ignited the crowd with an electric driving layup and Caloiaro added a corner triple that established an 80-70 Maccabi lead with 4 minutes left. Caloiaro kept pushing and extended Maccabi's lead to 12. Delaney and Mirotic did not give up, however, bringing Barcelona within 85-82 with 1:01 remaining. Then Wilbekin downed a critical three-pointer that sealed the outcome.

Pivotal performer

Angelo Caloiaro barely played in the first half, but made the difference for his team at both ends after the break. Caloiaro scored all of his 12 points in the second half on near-perfect shooting. He added 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 12.

Game-changing moment

Barcelona kept its chances alive for 34 minutes and was within 71-68 midway through the fourth quarter. Angelo Caloiaro scored off the baseline, Othello Hunter and Aaron Jackson also scored around the basket and once again Caloiaro buried a three-pointer and added a layup and free throws for an 84-72 Maccabi lead with 3 minutes left, which was eventually enough to seal the outcome.

Stellar stat

Three-point shooting and turnovers were critical in the outcome of this game. Maccabi hit 14-of-28 three-point shots (50%) and Barcelona was marginally worse (11-of-26, 42.3%). Barcelona committed 17 turnovers and Maccabi just 12. In a game in which both teams have the same team PIR (96), small details made the difference.

Did you notice?

Even though these teams have now split home wins in the EuroLeague, Barcelona would finish ahead of Maccabi if they are tied at the end of this 34-game round-robin phase. Barcelona has the tiebreak advantage due to a 96-73 home win against Maccabi in Round 10.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action on Thursday. Barcelona visits Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, and Maccabi hosts AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan.

Scottie Wilbekin - Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv - EB19
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; MOGULKOC, EMIN; HORDOV, TOMISLAV
Attendance: 10722
By Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv20281727
FC Barcelona27141628
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv20486592
FC Barcelona27415785
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 BRYANT, ELIJAH 17:20 2 1/2 0/2   2 3 5 1 1 1     1   4
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 28:15 18 1/7 4/9 4/4   2 2 3 1 4     2 4 11
2 ACY, QUINCY 4:50   0/1 0/1     2 2     1     3   -4
3 REYNOLDS, JALEN 16:18 6 2/5   2/4 2 3 5 2 2 1     2 2 9
4 CALOIARO, ANGELO 26:32 12 2/2 2/3 2/2   1 1 1 1       5 3 12
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 23:42 12 5/9   2/2 4 3 7 2       1 3 4 17
8 AVDIJA, DENI 11:34 3   1/2     1 1 2         1   4
9 JACKSON, AARON 9:11 2 1/1       1 1 3   2     5   -1
11 DORSEY, TYLER 24:25 19 1/3 5/9 2/4       1 2 2     1 7 18
14 WOLTERS, NATE 9:22 3 0/1 1/1     2 2 3             7
15 COHEN, JAKE 8:38 8 2/2 1/1 1/2   1 1   1       1 1 9
50 ZOOSMAN, YOVEL 19:53 7 3/5   1/2   2 2 1 2 1   1 2 2 7
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 92 18/38 14/28 14/20 10 23 33 19 10 13 0 2 26 23 96
        47.4% 50% 70%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
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
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 10:39 7 3/4   1/1           2     4 1 1
5 RIBAS, PAU 5:03               2   1     1    
8 HANGA, ADAM 20:19   0/1 0/1     1 1 6   1       2 6
10 SMITS, ROLANDS 2:01           1 1               1
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 17:44 3   1/3 0/2         1       1 2 1
21 ABRINES, ALEX DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 HIGGINS, CORY 31:45 13 3/6 1/3 4/6   2 2 1   4 1   2 6 10
23 DELANEY, MALCOLM 23:44 13 1/3 3/5 2/5   3 3 6 1 3     4 3 12
24 KURIC, KYLE 17:50 10 1/2 2/5 2/2 1 1 2 2           1 11
30 CLAVER, VICTOR 22:10 6 2/2 0/2 2/2   3 3 1 1   1   3 1 8
33 MIROTIC, NIKOLA 35:14 22 3/4 4/7 4/4   10 10 3   4     4 7 30
44 TOMIC, ANTE 13:31 11 5/6   1/2 3 3 6 1   2     4 3 13
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 85 18/28 11/26 16/24 5 26 31 22 3 17 2 0 23 26 96
        64.3% 42.3% 66.7%
Head coach: PESIC, SVETISLAV

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"I want to congratulate our players for one more win, but today's win is against a great team with a great roster and a very good coach, experienced, and I think we did a great job winning this game. It was very important that after the first period, in which we allowed 27 points, we started to play better defense. They scored 14 and 16 points in the second and third quarters. I think that with this performance in this period of the game, we established the game to our side, as we wanted it to be. We won the second period with double score and got the lead, which was very important. And then at the end, we got a lead of 12 points. I think Barcelona scored some tough shots but they have the quality to do this. We played smart offensively, kept the ball and got some very important offensive rebounds, hitting some shots at the end. In general, whenever we have a drive-and-kick play, we found open shots, and I think it was a very big, very important win for us. I congratulate our players and we have one more challenge in front of us, Milan, in 48 hours. We need to be mentally ready, our minds need to be focused and we need to be ready to continue today's performance also on Thursday. I would also like to congratulate our fans. I want to thank them for coming one more time. We had a sell-out, a very loud audience. Our fans were amazing and pushed the team to the next level."
PESIC, SVETISLAV
FC Barcelona
"As everybody saw, it was a high-intensity game from the beginning until the end. The PIR for both teams was 96. I think we played a good game against a good team in a good moment, with a lot of confidence. We had 17 turnovers and that was our big problem. One reason, like always, was the opponent's defense, but there were other reasons: Sometimes we are too excited and want to take decisions without control instead of building our offense and waiting for a better chance. We had good shooting percentages from two-points and three-points, 22 assists and a PIR of 96 but the problem was, I think, too many turnovers. We can say with respect that Maccabi deserved this victory."

Players

CALOIARO, ANGELO
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"I am having fun. It is amazing, these fans are unbelievable. They support us every game, they always show up and it is a lot of fun to play in front of them. It shows: we play a lot better in front of them. It definitely helps. It is going to be tough [against Milan on Thursday], they are a good team. We will get back tomorrow, watch film and start pre-gaming for them."
DORSEY, TYLER
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"I just saw a few [shots] go in early and my teammates were finding me coming off screens. I just caught the rhythm early, but all credit to my teammates for helping me catching my rhythm throughout the game."
ORIOLA, PIERRE
FC Barcelona
"Small details made the difference in the end. Once again, we managed to get in the game, within 3 points, but we made some turnovers, missed some free throws and they made some shots. They went away due to our own mistakes and like I said, details made the difference and made them win the game. It is a long way, we are starting the second half of the regular season. There is a long way ahead for us and in just 48 hours, we play against a tough opponent like Fenerbahce on the road. Fenerbahce is once again the team we are used to seeing. It will be difficult, but we have to try to play a good game and win."
DELANEY, MALCOLM
FC Barcelona
"We have to figure out the way to get back into some rhythm. We had three bad games and will do our best to get back into some rhythm, play how we were playing. We have to forget about this one and focus on Fenerbahce. They are playing well now. They started out pretty bad, but are now in good form. We have to be prepared to go there, it will be another tough game."