Maccabi backcourt paves way to tough win at Limoges

Reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv edged feisty Limoges CSP for a 73-79 road win in the Game of the Week on Thursday night. Maccabi led by 18 points in the third quarter behind great scoring from Sylven Landesberg as well as the perimeter defense and steals from Yogev Ohayon that led to many fast breaks. Limoges rallied and took over the lead in the fourth quarter, however Jeremy Pargo scored key baskets down the stretch to win it for Maccabi. Pargo had 9 of his 13 points in the final minute, while Landesberg led the way with career-highs of 22 points plus 9 rebounds for Maccabi to improve to 4-2 and at least a share of second place of Group B. Ohayon, who played a career-high 33 minutes, had 11 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 8 steals, which is a club record and the most steals in a single Euroleague game in more than six years. For the hosts, Leo Westerman scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, Nobel Boungou-Colo added 13, Adrien Moerman amassed 11 points plus 13 rebounds, while Jamar Smith scored 10 for Limoges, which dropped to 1-5.

First quarter: Maccabi strikes first, Limoges quickly rallies

Leo Westermann opened the game with a basket-plus-foul, before Yogev Ohayon got Maccabi going with a three-pointer. Nobel Boungou-Colo nailed a corner triple to make it 6-3, but Sofoklis Schortsanitis muscled his way inside, and Ohayon drove for a layup and a 6-9 lead. Great ball movement by Maccabi led to a layup from Jake Cohen before a timeout, and Tyus scored a pair of layups after a timeout to open a 6-15 advantage. Adrien Moerman nailed a triple to snap a five-minute Limoges drought and a 0-12 run. After Tyus and Boungou-Colo traded layups, a wide open three-pointer from Ramel Curry made it 14-17. Curry followed with a driving layup that got Limoges within a single point, forcing the visitors to call a timeout. J.P. Batista put Limoges back in front with an open jumper, and after Schortsanitis fed Landesberg for an easy two, Boungou-Colo buried a three in the in the closing seconds of the quarter for a 21-19 edge.

Second quarter: Landesberg leads the champs to a halftime lead

Fastbreak points from Landesberg and MarQuez Haynes got Maccabi back into the lead, and Landesberg drove baseline for a sweet finger roll. Another fastbreak finish from Haynes gave Maccabi a 21-27 lead. Batista snapped a 0-8 run with free throws, and Curry had two quick and uncontested fastbreak layups. A fastbreak finish from Jamar Smith put Limoges in front 29-27, before Landesberg from the right side, and Devin Smith from the left, each hit a baseline jumper. It snapped an 8-0 run, and started another 0-8 run. Tyus and Devin Smith finished fast breaks with dunks, and after a basket from Batista, Maccabi opened a 31-38 lead with a three-pointer from Landesberg. In the final two minutes of the quarter, Jamar Smith nailed a baseline jumper, but Landesberg put back his own miss and Devin Smith finished a fastbreak to give Maccabi a 35-42 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Ohayon’s steals lead fast breaks and Maccabi control

Maccabi used fast breaks to open a double-digit lead at the start of the third quarter. Ohayon made a steal and raced for a layup, then threw a length-of-the-court pass for an easy layup for Cohen and a 35-46 advantage. Pargo finished another breakaway with a layup, and Tyus drew an unsportsmanlike foul on the fourth consecutive counter attack. Meanwhile, the visitors kept Limoges scoreless for more than six minutes, while Cohen’s layup on a feed from Pargo, and another Ohayon steal and fastbreak bucket made it 35-53. Trent Plaisted snapped a 0-11 run by splitting free throws, then scoring from close range, but Maccabi remained in complete control as Landesberg nailed a triple from the corner to make it 38-56. However, Plaisted scored a basket in heavy traffic, before Westermann buried a triple and then banked in a buzzer-beating three-quarter-court shot to cut the deficit to 48-57 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth quarter: Limoges rallies back, but Pargo and Maccabi prevail

Devin Smith and Jamar Smith traded shots at the start of the quarter, before Pargo drove for a layup to make it 50-61. But Jamar Smith banked in a shot the lane, then Moerman had a pair of second chance buckets to get within 5. After a Maccabi timeout, Limoges continued on defense with its half-court press, and 2-3 zone defense. Westerman and Haynes traded triples, before Moerman drove the baseline for a layup that made it 61-64. The run from Limoges continued with Boungou-Colo finishing a fast break with a slam, then knocking down a triple on the next trip down the floor to give Limoges a 66-64 edge. Landesberg snapped a 16-3 run with a triple, and then nailed another one from downtown - his fifth - to make it 68-70. Limoges regained the lead with a layup from Jamar Smith after an inbound pass, but Pargo buried a tough triple and a fastbreak layup for 71-75 advantage with 39 seconds to go. On the ensuing possession, Jamar Smith forced, and missed, a tough triple, and Pargo made it a 6-point game from the free throw line. Westermann drove for a layup, but Pargo made 2 more free throws, and Ohayon made his eighth steal, to seal the deal.