McCollum’s shooting leads Efes to win in Tel Aviv

Errick McCollum nailed 8 three-pointers and Anadolu Efes Istanbul dominated the boards en route to a resounding 72-92 road victory over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv on Tuesday night. After losing its opening five games, Efes picked up its second consecutive road win and improved to 2-5, while Maccabi dropped to 4-3. McCollum finished with 31 points on 8-of-11 three-point shooting. He hit his first 6 attempts as Efes opened a 15-point lead in the second quarter. Maccabi came as close as 5 points after the break, and kept it close until Efes put together a 2-15 run that put the game away. Vladimir Stimac had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds and also picked up 3 steals in victory. Krunoslav Simon netted 11 points, Ricky Ledo had 10 points and 9 rebounds, while Bryant Dunston had 10 points and 5 blocks for Efes which hit 14 of 25 three-pointers and held a 30-46 rebounding edge against the team that led the league in that category prior to this game. Pierre Jackson finished with 20 points for Maccabi, Jonah Bolden collected 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, while DeShaun Thomas and Aley Tyus scored 10 points apiece.

Josh Adams scored 7 of the first 8 points for the visitors, including a three-pointer, but Jackson had 5 points for Maccabi and Bolden and Deandre Kane scored from close range. After Simon and Kane traded three-pointers, and Stimac and Tyus exchanged dunks, McCollum nailed his first three-pointer to make it 14-16. Simon hit his second three for Efes, but Thomas and Tyus made sure the score was tied at 19-19 after first quarter. McCollum’s second three started a 0-9 run to open second quarter for Efes that gave it a 19-28 lead. Maccabi got points from Thomas and Cole, but McCollum remained hot. He made a 4-point play and a minute later added a triple that opened a 24-37 cushion. Efes was shooting 7-for-9 from long range at that point. Thomas nailed a three for Maccabi, but before halftime, McCollum hit two more from behind the arc and Stimac free throws extended the margin to 15 points, 32-47. Bolden’s triple made it 35-47 at halftime.

Jackson starred at the start of the third for Maccabi. Each team scored on the opening four possessions of the third quarter, but Jackson had 13 points and an assist as Maccabi closed within 52-57. After a timeout, Brock Motum strung together 6 points to get the margin back to double-digits. Maccabi was not going away just yet, as Bolden had 7 points, including a three-point play, and the hosts cut the gap to 61-67. But Ledo drove to the hoop and McCollum made a runner for the visitors. McCollum traded triples with Michael Roll, before Cole drove the baseline for a tough layup that made it 68-74. But Efes responded: Ledo had a put-back and McCollum a running triple before threes from Ledo and Simon capped a 2-15 run that opened a 70-89 margin and sealed the outcome.