Khadeen Carrington and Jared Harper lead the way as Jerusalem strengthens its bid for first place in Group A
Jerusalem extends winning streak to 11 with road win at Aris
Game Report
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Regular Season
Round 14 of 18
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“We had a goal from the beginning of the season – obviously, we wanted to finish top two,” said Khadeen Carrington said. Speaking minutes after his playoff-qualified Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem team comfortably overcame Aris Thessaloniki Betsson, 96-77, to extend its winning streak to 11, Carrington was still careful not to get carried away. “We still have a way to go, with four more games, so we have to stay focused until it’s all done.”
It was a highly professional display from Jerusalem on Wednesday night at Palais De Sports. The visitors took control from the opening tip, running out to an 8-0 start to the contest. The visitors continued to dictate the pace, finishing the first period ahead by 9. However, some short-lived resistance from Aris meant that the hosts went into halftime trailing by just 9.
Coach Yonatan Alon’s men snatched the momentum back in the third quarter, closing Aris’s window of opportunity quickly and tightening their grip on the game throughout the second half. Despite some late foul trouble, Jerusalem earned the 19-point victory with no significant trouble.
“We came in here, where there’s a tough crowd, we didn’t want to give them anything, so we jumped out on them early,” said Carrington. “Credit to the team and coaching staff, everybody was focused from the beginning.”
Reigning EuroCup MVP Jared Harper stood out again for Jerusalem with 17 points and 5 dimes. Carrington scored 17 points of his own and Cassius Winston, Anthony Lamb and Yovel Zoosman also finished on double figures in scoring. The visitors may have won the game on the glass, finishing with 13 more rebounds than their opponents.
As well as winning its 11th game on the bounce, Jerusalem strengthened its hope of finishing first in Group A, having already clinched postseason action. At 12-2 for the EuroCup campaign, its 4 remaining regular season games will serve as something of a seeding exercise.
Coach Igor Milicic’s men find themselves in a more challenging position. At 7-7 and having lost their third game in a row, Aris faces a battle to hold on to its playoff hopes. They will need a turnaround in form and some good fortune to take them to the next stage. To pull it off, Milicic feels they need to focus on effort in one particular area of their play.
“We didn’t accomplish what we asked before this game – to put up a fight on rebounds. This is the comment on the game, and on the last five games,” Milicic exclaimed.
“This is embarrassing, especially for the bigs. Whatever we do, whatever we practice to improve this, it’s pretty much bullsh*t. You have to want to do it, you are getting paid for it, so you better do it. If you don’t do it, there’s no place for you here, with this mentality.”
One hopeful sign for the coach’s hunt for rebounds was the introduction of center Kostas Antetokounmpo. The Greek native and recent Aris loanee from Olympiacos Piraeus experienced mixed fortunes in a tough debut, making promising defensive plays, along with careless and unnecessary fouls. The 28-year-old center feels he can improve and capitalize on the fresh opportunity.
"Sometimes you have to dive straight into the deep end,” said Antetokounmpo. “It’s something that will help me, and I’m truly ready for the opportunity that lies ahead."
The immediate challenge that lies ahead for Aris is a trip to Poland to face Slask Wroclaw next Tuesday. On that same night, Jerusalem will face off against Bahcesehir College Istanbul.
