The Maccabi guard sank the game winner in the final second
Saben Lee lifts Maccabi past Real, 79-78
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv edged Real Madrid 79-78 in a Round 7 thriller on Thursday after entering the fourth quarter down 9. Both teams now have 3-4 records in the standings.
Saben Lee led the winners with 19 points, including the game-winning shot with 0.1 seconds remaining. Rokas Jokubaitis added 17 points and 7 assists, Roman Sorkin scored 13, Jasiel Rivero 10 and Will Rayman hauled in 14 rebounds for Maccabi. Mario Hezonja led Real with 18 points. Facu Campazzo scored 16 and dished 7 assists and Walter Tavares had 11 points for the visitors.
Game Videos
Sorkin got Maccabi going with a backdoor layup and Levi Randolph bettered Tavares's jump hook with a three-pointer for a 5-2 lead. Hezonja banked in a close shot and Tavares hit a jumper to give Real its first lead, 5-6. Jokubaitis fired in a step-back triple and Sorkin also struck from downtown to restore an 11-8 Maccabi edge. Hezonja dunked and improved Randolph's jumper with a three-pointer that tied it at 13-13. Sorkin insisted from beyond the arc. Jokubaitis and Campazzo traded baskets before Sergio Llull's three-pointer tied the game again, 18-18. After Rivero and the red-hot Llull traded triples, Hezonja dunked off a steal for a 21-23 Real lead after 10 minutes.
Rivero buried a six-meter jumper early in the second quarter. Xavier Rathan-Mayes hit a turnaround shot that Lee bettered with a bomb from beyond the arc. Jake Cohen found his first points and Lee insisted from downtown for a 31-27 Maccabi lead. Jokubaitis buried a jumper off the dribble and improved on Tavares's dunk with a three-pointer that prompted Real to call timeout at 36-29. Campazzo rescued Real with a couple of fastbreak layups and a triple to tie it. Campazzo kept pacing Los Blancos with a driving layup and he followed Hezonja's coast-to-coast basket with a three-point play for a 36-43 Real lead at halftime.
Randolph hit a jumper soon after the break and Jaylen Hoard added a layup that got Maccabi within 40-43. After Alberto Abalde scored in penetration, Sorkin answered from downtown. Hezonja's close basket established a 43-47 Real lead. Campazzo found Gabriel Deck for a fastbreak layup that Will Rayman matched with a put-back basket. Sorkin scored around the basket and Lee tied it at 49-49. Abalde and Hezonja each stepped up with a three-pointer to give Real fresh air at 51-55. Deck took over with a wild three-point play and Tavares added a layup-plus-foul to make it 53-61. Abalde bettered Hoard's jumper with a three-point play that fixed the score at 55-64 after 30 minutes.
Campazzo fed Eli Ndiaye for a backdoor layup early in the fourth quarter. Randolph and Hoard stepped up for Maccabi and Lee made a jumper, which caused Real to call timeout at 62-66. Llull rescued Real, Jokubaitis buried a step-back jumper, then Tavares scored down low to boost his team's lead to 64-71 with over 4 minutes left. Lee got help from Jokubaitis to bring Maccabi within 69-72. Rathan-Mayes scored in penetration and Campazzo made it 70-76 with over 2 minutes remaining. Jokubaitis downed a jumper and Rivero improved on Deck's layup with a triple that got Maccabi within 75-78. After Rivero scored around the basket, Real called timeout at 77-78 with 35.8 seconds left. Campazzo missed a floater and Maccabi got the ball back with 12.7 seconds remaining. Lee took Deck one-on-one and buried the game winning shot with 0.1 remaining.