The Israeli champs now lead the best-of-five series 2-1
Maccabi outlasts Panathinaikos 85-83 to take series lead
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv moved within one win of a Final Four berth, holding on against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in a real thriller, 85-83, to take a 2-1 series lead.
Maccabi raced into an early advantage and enjoyed several double-digit advantages throughout the first half, which ended 46-37. The lead stretched to 18 points, 57-39, in the third quarter, but Panathinaikos didn’t give up and tied it with 42 seconds left. Lorenzo Brown then won the game, netting free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining.
Josh Nebo was the chief inspiration, leading the physical challenge with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Brown also came close to a double-double with 16 points and 8 assists, and Bonzie Colson added 13 points.
Kendrick Nunn paced Panathinaikos with 25 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting. Ioannis Papapetrou added 17 for the Greens while Mathias Lessort paired 14 points with 6 boards.
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Colson scored the first 5 points and Nebo added a slam for a 7-0 lead. Jerian Grant’s free throws and Lessort’s driving layup got Panathinaikos on the board, but Brown and John DiBartolomeo kept Maccabi ahead, 11-4. The Greens went inside for a 2-7 run, including 4 points for Dinos Mitoglou, but Brown’s banked jumper settled Maccabi. Romain Sorkin and Antonius Cleveland made it a 10-0 run and a double-digit lead, 23-11, after ten minutes.
Luca Vildoza and Jasiel Rivero traded two-point strikes to start the second frame, before Vildoza and James Webb III added the game’s first three-pointers. Papapetrou also hit from deep and Marius Grigonis scored in transition, pulling the Greens back to 28-21. Webb and Nunn both netted twice, before Vildoza and Cleveland traded triples, 39-29. Nebo detonated a duo of dunks, but Mitoglou and Nunn hit from deep to make it 46-37 at the break.
Nunn’s driving score was answered by Nebo’s alley-oop layup, and Colson’s four-point play stretched the lead to 52-39. Nebo’s power layup and Jake Cohen’s triple completed an 11-0 run for a game-high 57-39 advantage. Nunn and Mitoglou stopped the bleeding, but Nebo nailed another slam, Jasiel Rivero converted a putback and Tamir Blatt scored from mid-range as Maccabi stayed comfortable. Lessort scored 4 points and Papapetrou struck from long-range in a 0-9 response, but Brown beat the buzzer from deep and it was 67-56 with ten minutes remaining.
Another Nebo dunk opened the fourth quarter, but Nunn and Vildoza lifted Panathinaikos with triples. Brown scored twice for another double-digit margin, 73-63. Nebo dunked and Brown struck from deep, but Nunn’s third triple and Lessort’s layup kept the Greens hoping, 78-70. Another Brown to Nebo alley-oop was bettered by Papapetrou’s triple, and Nunn also scored from deep to make it 81-77 with two minutes left. Lessort’s putback completed a 0-9 run, and Nunn again scored from long range, 83-82. Lessort split free throws for a tie, and a jump ball gave Maccabi the last possession. Brown drew a shooting foul from Grant and made both before Nunn missed a triple on the final buzzer.