Halperin helps Hapoel stay unbeaten in Last 32

Yotam Halperin had 9 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in the fourth quarter alone as Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem erased a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Budivelnik Kiev 88-84 and remain atop the Last 32 Group M standings. Hapoel improved to 3-0, while dropping Kiev to 1-2. Halperin finished with 19 points, a career-high 10 assists and 3 steals for the winners. The hosts benefitted from tremendous play from its reserves: Josh Duncan scored 20 points, Bracey Wright added 13 and Yaniv Green 12. Blake Ahearn led seven Budivelnik scorers in double figures with 16 points. Sergiy Gorbenko and DaJuan Summers netted 12 points apiece, Dainius Salenga and Darjus Lavrinovic scored 11 each and Ricky Minard and Janis Strelnieks each scored 10. Summers also hauled in 12 rebounds and Minard dished 8 assists in defeat.

After a tight start, Kiev pulled away as Summers and Gorbenko drained back-to-back three-pointers to make it 6-13. The lead hit 9-20 on Gorbenko’s third three in as many attempts. Hapoel closed the gap to 4 thanks to big men Duncan and Green before Lavrinovic free throws made it 20-26 at the end of the quarter. Threes by Salenga and Ahearn put Budivelnik ahead by 9 early in the second quarter. The hosts responded with 7 unanswered points and eventually tied the game at 37-37 on Wright’s tip-in. A Halperin three put the hosts in front and Lior Eliyahu helped Hapoel build a 47-41 advantage. However Budivelnik stormed to a 51-56 halftime lead on Summers’s buzzer-beating three.

The visitors’ scorching three-point shooting kept Kiev in control; Minard connected from downtown to make it 57-66. The lead reached double digits before Halperin assisted twice in a 7-0 Jerusalem run that helped close the gap to 67-71 at the end of the quarter. Summers silenced the crowd with an offensive rebound and slam, but the fans were singing again after a pair of baskets from Green. Hapoel tied it at 73-73 after Halperin’s steal and layup before Green capped an 8-0 run for a Jerusalem lead. Strelnieks came through with an acrobatic basket-plus-foul at the other end, but Halperin and co. continued to shine, moving ahead 82-77 on the guard’s three-pointer. A Lavrinovic free throw made it a 2-point game with two and a half minutes remaining. Duncan’s short jumper made it a two-possession game with 25 seconds to go and Jerusalem closed the game out with a defensive stop.