Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. CSKA Moscow

2020-21Regular SeasonRound 27

March 02, 2021 CET: 20:05

Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

CSKA holds off Maccabi's comeback

CSKA Moscow recorded its second consecutive road win by edging Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 80-84 at Menora Mivtachin Arena on Tuesday. CSKA improved to 18-8 and remained in second place in the standings. Maccabi dropped its fourth straight game to fall to 10-15. Will Clyburn led the winners with 21 points, Darrun Hilliard added 17, Iffe Lundberg scored 12 and Mike James 10 for CSKA. Maccabi got 20 points from Tyler Dorsey and 14 with 10 rebounds from Othello Hunter. Maccabi led 23-21 late in the first quarter but Lundberg and Clyburn fueled a 0-16 run helped CSKA to a 33-51 lead at halftime. Maccabi rallied later to get within 80-82, but Toko Shengelia hit free throws to seal the outcome with 7.3 seconds to go.

Cleaning up required... @MEasy_50 #7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/JmWqPKRsXt
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 2, 2021

Dragan Bender got Maccabi going with a three-pointer. Hilliard struck twice from downtown in an 0-8 CSKA run, but Scottie Wilbekin and Omri Casspi answered with a 7-1 run that gave the hosts a 10-9 edge. A red-hot Hilliard and Nikita Kurbanov each buried one from beyond the arc, but Angelo Caloiaro and Ante Zizic kept Maccabi within 14-15. Joel Bolomboy hit a floater before Casspi gave Maccabi an 18-17 edge. After James and Chris Jones traded jumpers, Tyler Dorsey bettered Clyburn's dunk with a triple. Michael Eric's put-back layup tied it at 23-23 after 10 minutes. Clyburn and Jones each scored in penetration early in the second quarter. Eric silenced the crowd with a huge dunk and James added a driving layup for a 25-29 CSKA lead. Dorsey hit a three-pointer, but Lundberg struck twice from downtown and Clyburn dunked twice and scored in the paint in a game-breaking 0-16 run that Hilliard capped with a layup. Wilbekin and Hunter stepped up for Maccabi, but James gave CSKA a 33-51 margin at halftime.

Hilliard sank a corner triple right after the break, but Dorsey matched it with a three-point play and struck from downtown to give Maccabi hope at 39-56. Bolomboy and Toko Shengelia rescued CSKA, but Hunter and Dorsey kept the hosts close, 43-61. The visitors found a new go-to guy in Eric, who got help from Clyburn to restore a 47-68 lead. Elijah Bryant sank a triple and Hunter added an alley-oop dunk for a 52-68 score after 30 minutes. Hunter kept pushing Maccabi early in the fourth quarter, but Lundberg buried a three-pointer for a 56-71 CSKA lead. Bryant answered with a couple of backdoor layups and Caloiaro added a triple to bring Maccabi within single digits, 63-71. Lundberg insisted from downtown and Clyburn scored twice in the low post, but Caloiaro, Sandy Cohen and Dorsey made it 75-78, with 3 minutes to go. After Hilliard buried a critical three-pointer, Hunter scored in transition to make it 77-81 with 51.5 seconds left. Clyburn split free throws, Dorsey buried a three-pointer and Maccabi fouled on Shengelia with 7.3 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to seal the outcome.

.@TheNatural_05 is very hard to guard...#7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/E8qQVJdaA6
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 2, 2021

Pivotal performer

Will Clyburn found answers on offense in crunch time and led CSKA with a strong performance. He finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-9 two-point shooting plus 5 rebounds and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 20.

Game-changing moment

After Tyler Dorsey buried a triple to bring Maccabi within 28-29. CSKA kept its opponent scoreless for the next 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Iffe Lundberg struck twice from beyond the arc and Will Clyburn added 8 points - two dunks, a reverse layup and free throws. By the time Darrun Hilliard scored around the basket, CSKA led 28-45 and never trailed after that.

Stellar stat

CSKA protected its paint well, keeping Maccabi to just 17-of-43 two-point shooting (39.5%). On the other side of the floor, the Russian powerhouse hit 16 of 30 shots inside the arc (53.3%).

Did you know?

CSKA is 8-0 in the EuroLeague this season when Darrun Hilliard gets a double-digit PIR and 11-2 when he scores in double digits. He had 17 points and a PIR of 11 in this game.

Next game

Both teams return to action on Thursday, March 4. Maccabi hosts Valencia Basket and CSKA visits Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Euroleague.net

Referees: BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; VILIUS, GYTIS; ALIAGA, JORDI

Attendance: 300

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv	23	10	19	28
CSKA Moscow	23	28	17	16

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv	23	33	52	80
CSKA Moscow	23	51	68	84

Maccabi Playtika 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	15:30	7	2/3	1/3		1		1			3			1		1
1	WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE	27:11	8	1/5	2/8		1	4	5	4						3	10
3	JONES, CHRIS	19:49	4	2/4	0/2			2	2	6	1				3		6
4	CALOIARO, ANGELO	25:33	9	2/6	1/2	2/2	1	1	2	2				1	3	2	6
5	HUNTER, OTHELLO	25:42	14	3/8		8/8	6	4	10		1	1	1		1	7	26
6	COHEN, SANDY	12:44	5	1/2	1/3			3	3	1	1	1			2	1	5
7	CASSPI, OMRI	16:44	6	2/5		2/3	2	1	3		1	2	1		2	3	6
11	DORSEY, TYLER	21:26	20	2/4	5/7	1/1		3	3	2		4	1	1	3	1	15
12	DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN	3:31			0/1										1		-2
14	BLAYZER, OZ	13:33	2	1/2			1		1	1	1				1		3
17	BENDER, DRAGAN	3:59	3		1/1										3
23	ZIZIC, ANTE	14:18	2	1/4			4	5	9	1	2	3			1	1	8
	Team						1	1	2								2
	Totals	200:00	80	17/43	11/27	13/14	17	24	41	17	7	14	3	2	21	18	86
				39.5%	40.7%	92.9%

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

CSKA Moscow

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
1	LUNDBERG, IFFE	28:16	12	0/1	4/8		2	2	4	1	1	1			1	4	15
3	BOLOMBOY, JOEL	16:04	6	1/2		4/4		3	3		1			1	3	2	7
5	JAMES, MIKE	31:19	10	2/5	1/6	3/4		2	2	6		2	1	1		3	10
6	HILLIARD, DARRUN	24:45	17	1/2	5/10			2	2		1	2	1		2		11
10	HACKETT, DANIEL	16:02	1	0/1	0/1	1/2		1	1	3	3				2	2	5
11	ANTONOV, SEMEN	2:26													1		-1
13	STRELNIEKS, JANIS	0:50		0/1													-1
17	VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES	2:23			0/1			1	1						2		-2
21	CLYBURN, WILL	25:23	21	7/9	1/3	4/6	1	4	5		1	2			4	5	20
23	SHENGELIA, TORNIKE	21:08	8	2/5	0/2	4/6		2	2	2	2	2		1		5	9
41	KURBANOV, NIKITA	11:50	3		1/1						1				1		3
50	ERIC, MICHAEL	19:34	6	3/4			4	4	8			2			2		9
	Team						3	3	6								6
	Totals	200:00	84	16/30	12/32	16/22	10	24	34	12	10	11	2	3	18	21	91
				53.3%	37.5%	72.7%

Head coach: ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

"I think tonight, it is obvious that the second period was the game, because in that period, we didn't produce on offense. We missed some layups, we turned the ball over in the beginning of the period. They scored twice on the fast break and got a 7-8 point lead and then we panicked and didn't execute well on offense, and that also hurt our defense. It was obvious that we collapsed in this period and this is, for me, the most important thing that we need to improve, not to have those moments. We can have 2-3 minutes that we miss a layup, we miss an open shot, you can turn the ball over once but the most important thing is to keep fighting on defense in these minutes, not allow easy scoring and find your rhythm from your defense. We didn't do that. We tried to fight in the second half. I think we were better in the third quarter and kept them on 17 points. Then we gave our maximum in the fourth quarter but we tried to come back to the game. We had some chances, some small details that could be different, especially on offense, but we could get even closer to them. I think we keep the negative on the second period and the positive of the fourth period. We need to continue to be more stable in our performances and to believe more that when things don't go well during the game – in all games, all teams have ups and downs – the moments that you are not playing well, let's say on offense, you need to keep playing defense. This is what we have to improve. We continue... We will fight until the end and see what will happen. Most important now is to be ready for the next game that we play in two days against Valencia here."

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

CSKA Moscow

"I would like to, obviously, congratulate my team for another win on the road. We dictated the tempo for three quarters and in the third quarter, we were up by double digits. Today, even though we could find a lot of similarities with the game we played in Athens (against Olympiacos), it was a totally different game today. We had good ball movement, open looks, good touches in the paint. The only thing that I regret was when we were also playing small ball, we were not going that motivated to go and get offensive boards, because the shots were pretty good, well-taken. It is very important for us, in this moment, when we have people that people back from injury and new players, to grab wins, so congratulations to the team for another road win. We have one more upcoming road game in Turkey. And good luck to Maccabi."

Players

DORSEY, TYLER

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

"We had a lapse in the second quarter and when you get down by 20 points, it's a hard climb back. We got close, we just tried to fight to be aggressive and bring energy because we needed it. We've got to battle, we can't quit and say the season is over, we need to keep fighting every game no matter how it looks."

CLYBURN, WILL

CSKA Moscow

"We kind of let the game get away from us, but that's the game of basketball. Obviously, we made a lot of mental mistakes in the second half, but we came out with a win."

LUNDBERG, IFFE

CSKA Moscow

"I have a lot of confidence in myself, but for me, it is easy. The coaching staff and the players, they trust me a lot, so I have been able to adjust pretty quickly, I would say, but it is not only me. The team has also been really, really good towards me. We put pressure on them. We ran fast, especially in the first half. I think that in the second half, we kept our composure, we kept our heads high and also believed we would win the game."