2013-14Top 16Round 10
March 13, 2014 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 NOKIA ARENA

Maccabi Electra coasts to seventh straight home win

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv took another step towards a place in the playoffs with a 77-67 win over Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday night at Nokia Arena. The victory improved Maccabi’s record to 7-3, good for third place in Group F. Zalgiris remained last with a 1-9 record. David Blu hit a pair of triples in the final minute of the second quarter, and Maccabi kept the visitors scoreless for five minutes at the start of the third, putting together a 15-2 run for 47-33 lead. The visitors never came closer than 6 points the rest of the way, as Tyrese Rice, Ricky Hickman and Sofoklis Schortsanitis led the hosts to victory. Rice finished with 19 points and 6 assists, Hickman netted 14, Guy Pnini bagged 11 points and Schortsanitis finished with 10 for Maccabi. Justin Dentmon had 14 points for the visitors, and Robertas Javtokas collected 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Arturas Milaknis and Sarunas Jasikevicius, in his return to Tel Aviv, had 11 points apiece.

First quarter: Teams trade leads early on

Sofoklis Schortsanitis fought his way for a layup to start the scoring, and after Dentmon and Yogev Ohayon traded triples, Schortsanitis stole the ball and raced for a rare fastbreak layup and 7-3. Zalgiris answered with a floater from Martynas Pocius and a put-back from Tadas Klimavicius. After Schortsanitis scored in the trenches again, Guy Pnini nailed a three-pointer for the hosts and a 12-9 lead. But Robertas Javtokas hit 5 of 6 free throws, Dentmon drove for a layup and Pocius buried a triple to make it 14-17. There was a lot of desire and hustle on both ends from the start, but Maccabi's defense stepped up, keeping the visitors scoreless for more than four minutes. Maccabi briefly regained the lead with close-range baskets from Rice and Joe Ingles. However, Milaknis nailed a three for the visitors in the final minute, before Ingles drove for an easy layup just before the buzzer, making it 20-20 after the first quarter.

Second quarter: Blu's triples give Maccabi strong finish to the half

Milaknis hit a baseline jumper at the start of the second quarter, before Rice made a floater and Hickman a layup for the hosts. Milaknis added a triple to the visitors' tally, as the two teams continued trading leads, but Hickman also scored from downtown to make it 27-25. Vytenis Cizauskas scored twice on a fastbreak, tying the score at 29-29, but Maccabi finished the quarter strong. Rice scored a driving layup, and after Dentmon sank a fading jumper on the other end, David Blu nailed a pair of triples in the final minute of the half, extending the lead to 40-33 at halftime.

Third quarter: Hosts use defense to pull away and take control

Devin Smith buried a corner triple to open the half and Rice added a layup. While Maccabi held the visitors without a single point for almost five minutes, Schortsanitis scored a layup to make it 47-33. The big man soon committed his fourth personal foul, before Dentmon snapped Zalgiris’s drought. After Rice drove the baseline for a layup, Jasikevicius hit a floater, and Milaknis buried his third three-pointer, cutting it to 49-41. Dentmon got into foul-trouble with 4 fouls, but Zalgiris kept hanging close. Hickman and Cizauskas traded jumpers, then Rice and Jasikevicius exchanged baskets. Javtokas scored inside to close within 7 points, but Pnini nailed a three-pointer just before the buzzer for a 57-47 Tel Aviv lead after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Hickman, Schortsanitis and Rice seal the deal

Pnini and Hickman hit three-pointers in the fourth quarter to make it 63-49, but Klimavicius hit one from downtown for Zalgiris. Baskets from Jasikevicius and Dentmon cut it to 65-57, giving Zalgiris hope to come back. Another pair of baskets from Jasikevicius got the visitors to 67-61, but Hickman scored a layup after a great pass from Schortsanitis, and Rice nailed a triple for a 72-63 lead with less than three minutes remaining. Javtokas and Lipkevycius each split free throws, and Schortsanitis sealed it with a tip-in. In the remaining time, Javtokas had a put-back, and Rice answered with a layup-plus-free throw, rounding out the scoring.

Tyrese Rice - Maccabi Electra - EB13
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Euroleague.net
Referees: MARTIN, JOSE; GKONTAS, SPIROS; NURAN, RUSTU
Attendance: 11060 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv20201720
Zalgiris Kaunas20131420
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv20405777
Zalgiris Kaunas20334767
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 RICE, TYRESE 29:32 19 7/12 1/5 2/2 1 3 4 6 1 2   1 3 2 17
6 SMITH, DEVIN 26:31 3   1/4   1 7 8 1     1   2   8
7 HICKMAN, RICKY 25:34 14 4/9 2/3 0/1   4 4 3   1   2 2 5 14
8 INGLES, JOE 18:23 4 2/3           2         4 3 4
9 TYUS, ALEX DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 PNINI, GUY 21:58 11 0/1 3/4 2/2       1         1 1 10
11 ZIZIC, ANDRIJA 10:49         2 2 4     1     1 1 3
12 OHAYON, YOGEV 14:49 7 1/3 1/1 2/2 1 2 3 2 2 2   1 3 1 7
13 BLU, DAVID 30:01 8 0/6 2/7 2/2 4 1 5   1 2     2 2 1
14 ALTIT, BEN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 LANDESBERG, SYLVEN 5:11 1 0/1   1/2   1 1             1 1
21 SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS 17:12 10 5/9     2 2 4 3 2 1 2   4 1 13
Team           1 2 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 77 19/44 10/24 9/11 12 24 36 18 6 10 3 4 22 17 80
        43.2% 41.7% 81.8%
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
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
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 CIZAUSKAS, VYTENIS 15:42 6 3/5 0/1   1 1 2 1 1     1 2 1 5
5 GUDAITIS, ARTURAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 POCIUS, MARTYNAS 27:51 5 1/4 1/4 0/1 3 4 7 3 2 2     1 1 8
10 LIPKEVICIUS, VYTENIS 30:07 3 1/2 0/2 1/2 1 3 4 1   2     2 1 1
12 KLIMAVICIUS, TADAS 24:54 5 1/4 1/3 0/2 2 2 4 1   1   1 1 1 1
15 JAVTOKAS, ROBERTAS 26:20 12 3/5   6/8 3 6 9   1 1 4   2 8 27
19 JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS 19:41 11 5/6 0/2 1/1   2 2 2   4     1 4 11
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 25:04 11 1/3 3/5   1 3 4   1       2   10
22 KUPSAS, MINDAUGAS 3:25                         1   -1
23 DIMSA, TOMAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
55 DENTMON, JUSTIN 26:56 14 4/7 1/6 3/4   6 6 3 2 4   1 5 5 11
Team           1 2 3     2     1    
Totals 200:00 67 19/36 6/23 11/18 12 29 41 11 7 16 4 3 18 21 73
        52.8% 26.1% 61.1%
Head coach: STOMBERGAS, SAULIUS

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
"It was a tough and good game, as we expected. We led for most of the game, but not by a lot. We guarded well throughout the game, even excellently. We had an impressive three-point percentage and we have one of the highest scoring percentages in the Euroleague. It was not an easy game and I give a lot of credit to Zalgiris because they knew they wouldn’t be reaching the top eight, but still fought and stood up and showed a lot of class and a sporting attitude.

"I think that Yogev [Ohayon] did excellent work, both at the start of the game and when he played with Tyrese [Rice] in the second half. That gave us the momentum to the win. The two of them led us in the game. I am happy. This was a game we needed to win and we did. "
STOMBERGAS, SAULIUS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"We know from many years that Maccabi teams play strong every time, and this year they are strong with their individual players. They are playing strong one on one, two on two. We tried to control the game, tried to defend Sofo [Schortsanitis], but he is like a train. He needs a specific defense. He destroyed our defenses and scored some points. Of course one of the reasons Maccabi won was because they were much better from the perimeter and scored their three-point shots, especially when we lost the rhythm in the second half. When we hurried because we were trying to work and play in our offense all the way, trying to control the ball all the time because the Maccabi team like to run, because they have the players. It is very difficult to defend against them, because all of their team is great shooters and especially when they are on fire. "

Players

RICE, TYRESE
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
"We came out and we played hard. We pushed the ball, we played a lot in transition. This is good for us, it is good for our guards and it worked out the way it did. Against teams like this, like Zalgiris, they are going to come out and fight every game, whether it’s us or Real Madrid or CSKA, it doesn’t really matter. So in games like this you’ve got to win them on the defensive end and that’s what we did today.

"We’ve got a derby on Monday so that’s what we’ve got to worry about right now. But of course any time you go to Belgrade it’s going to be a tough game whether it’s Red Star or Partizan, so we know what to expect there. "
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
" Like always we had opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of them. It didn’t happen for us. It’s kind of the story of our season. If you come here and you want to beat Maccabi you have to take advantage of everything – of every little mistake. But in general they took advantage of our mistakes. Okay we are a little bit shorthanded, we got rid of some players. The rotation is a little bit short, so we have to play short. We are trying to get better, but in general our Euroleague season is not what we expected. Obviously it’s disappointing to be 1-9. It would not be disappointing if we did not have opportunities. We have been close in so many games. "