Hapoel’s play in the paint was critical in beating Turk Telekom

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv got 3 three-pointers from Xavier Munford in a 10-0 run to finish the game in beating Turk Telekom 84-82 on Tuesday night. Despite that good run, Hapoel had only made 6 of 18 three-pointers (33.3%) before then. What kept Hapoel in the game – and even gave it a big second-quarter lead – was Hapoel’s play in the paint.
The hosts' success up front was no given. Hapoel was without backup center Idan Zalmanson, forward J.P. Tokoto and swingman Jordan McRae due to illness, leaving the team with only eight rotation players. On top of that, starting center Chinanu Onukaku was called for 3 fouls in the first 5 minutes of the game and fouled out in just over 15 minutes of game time.
Hapoel overcame all those obstacles to outrebound Turk Telekom 37-31 and to make more shots inside – at better percentages – than the visitors. Hapoel shot 25 for 46 (54.3%) on two-pointers compared to Turk Telekom's 13 for 29 (44.8%). What’s more, Hapoel had almost twice as many second-chance as its opponent, 13-7.
Jaylen Hoard played a key role with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting plus 9 rebounds. Onuaku added 7 boards and Munford 6. The game’s top rebounder was Tyrique Jones with 12 for Turk Telekom, but the rest of his frontcourt mates contributed little on the boards.
Where Turk Telekom had success was from the perimeter; it made 16 of 36 threes (44.4%) led by Jerian Grant (6 of 8) and Axel Bouteille (5 of 11), but it was not enough in the end.