The Cuban forward produced the best EuroLeague performance of his career as the visitors came out on top.
Birthday boy Jasiel Rivero led Maccabi to victory at faltering Milan
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Regular Season
Round 2 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Jasiel Rivero served up a majestic performance as Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv romped to a 90-98 win at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in a rescheduled Round 2 game of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
The forward celebrated his 30th birthday with a rock-solid display at both ends of the court, having paced his team with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field while he also collected 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He finished with a career-high 26 PIR, which – as well as the win – was probably the best present he could have asked for.
Rivero turned out to be the X-factor for Maccabi as he spent only 19:25 minutes on the court, while Lorenzo Brown bounced back from a poor night in last week’s road drubbing by AS Monaco.
Other players stepped up, too
Brown delivered 20 points and 12 assists as Maccabi overturned a 32-25 first-quarter deficit, when Milan was firing on all cylinders thanks to top scorer Nikola Mirotic. From there on, however, Rivero made a telling impact as Milan could not handle his speed and physicality, with the Cuban doing plenty of damage in the paint.
The roles of Bonzie Colson, Antonius Cleveland and Josh Nebo were just as vital, as all three also finished in double figures to underline Maccabi’s fast-flowing offense and dominance in the paint.
Kattash praised Maccabi’s character
“It’s a great win for us,” Maccabi’s head coach Oded Kattash said during the post-game press conference. “We came here after a big loss at Monaco; we’re having lots of ups and downs on and off the court. Competing in the EuroLeague is never easy, especially under the circumstances, but we showed a lot of character. I am very happy for the players, the staff and the fans, but most of all for the people in Israel.”
Kattash also heaped praise on Rivero: “He was great for us tonight. He is one of the reasons we outrebounded a team like Milan, which has great size. I am also very happy that he found a way to score, it was a big night for him.”
Maccabi improved to a 3-2 record while Milan slipped to 1-4, piling the pressure on head coach Ettore Messina, who was livid with his team’s lackluster defense.
“We lost a game in which we had 25 assists and shot 40% on three-pointers,” he stated. “Another game in which we conceded [nearly] 100 points. Our identity is to play strong defense and protect our half of the court, but that has disappeared recently. We were no opposition today, as Maccabi ran, rebounded on offense, scored on the pick and roll and scored on isolation. Our defense was embarrassing.”