


Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv bounced back from its last home loss and defeated visiting FC Bayern Munich 90-82 at Menora Mitavchin Arena on Thursday night. The visitors were in control with a 39-50 lead early in the third quarter, but Maccabi used a strong last period, led by Lorenzo Brown and Bonzie Colson, to outscore its opponent 29-15 and grab the victory. The Yellows improved to 13-12 and remain in the fight for a playoff spot, while Bayern slipped to 9-16 after its fourth loss in a row.
Lorenzo Brown led all scorers with 27 points plus 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 33. Wade Balwin followed with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 blocks and Bonzie Colson tallied 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Corey Walden paced Bayern with 19 points in less than 23 minutes, with Andreas Obst, Niels Giffey and Cassius Winston escorting him with 14, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Neither Maccabi nor Bayern were able to take the reins in the first period. Every action by each team was immediately responded by the other, which turned into several ties and a 18-18 score after 10 minutes.
Back-to-back threes by Giffey and DJ Seeley and a three-point play by Othello Hunter granted the visitors a 21-27 advantage that Bayern maintained thanks to a significant dominance on the offensive board. Maccabi’s firs triple of the night got it as close as 28-29 midway through the second period, but three-pointers by Winston and Walden aborted the rally, and Bayern managed to keep a 39-44 edge at halftime using the free-throws coming from the foul bonus.
Things got worse for Maccabi after the break, as an early 0-6 run extended the margin to double-digits, 39-50. Baldwin and Brown came to the rescue and provided 2 triples each to keep the Yellows alive, 57-59. Bayern didn’t panic, though, and used offensive rebounding and the free-throw line to retain a 61-67 edge entering the last stanza.
Maccabi found its momentum quite early in the fourth, sparking a 7-0 run that returned the lead to the home side, 68-67, for the first time since the first quarter. Colson and Brown teamed up and started to score in a regular way, as Maccabi managed to improve its rebounding performance on both ends. Even though Obst tied it, 74-74, with 6 minutes remaining, Maccabi had already found its momentum. Baldwin joined Brown on the perimeter to give the last push to his team, setting a 87-82 score entering the last minute to put the game to bed.