Oded Kattash's side knocked off a Valencia team which had won five in a row.
Maccabi gets lucky against Valencia, now wants to stay humble after fourth straight win
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 17 of 38
Regular Season
Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
8582
Valencia BasketVBC
Overview
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Don’t look now but Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv has won four straight games and finds itself not too far from the playoff positions after taking down one of the best teams in the EuroLeague.
Maccabi survived a frantic final comeback from Valencia Basket to register an 85-82 victory and improve to 7-10, as it played its second game this season back in Israel.
“Super proud about our team, the effort they gave. That (Valencia) team is really talented – one of the best in the EuroLeague for a reason. We managed to compete with them, to keep our composure, and we showed our heart tonight for 40 minutes. It wasn’t pretty but I’ll take an ugly win over a loss any day of the week,” said Iffe Lundberg, who was one of five Maccabi players in double figures with 12 points and 7 assists.
Lonnie Walker led the way with 14 points, Jimmy Clark and TJ Leaf both scored 11 points and Marcio Santos added 10 points in the game played at Pais Arena in Jerusalem.
“We had some good minutes defensively against a great team. Most of the game we did a good job to give ourselves a chance. The last four or five minutes we should be more experienced, more aggressive on rebounding. They really punished us on rebounding and second chances,” said Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash. “But it’s special for us. It’s a great atmosphere. The crowd was amazing. We loved it.”
Coming off a road victory over Dubai Basketball, Maccabi fell behind by eight points in the first quarter before taking the lead and going into the break 47-41 ahead. The home side extended the cushion to as many as 10 points and the advantage was 12 points at 85-73 with 4:43 minutes left.
Maccabi could not get anything going offensively and did not score the rest of the way. And Kattash’s men watched as the league’s number one scoring offense rushed back into the game. Matt Costello made it nine straight points with a layup to make it 85-82 with 27 seconds left.
Maccabi then turned the ball over two seconds later and Valencia missed three three-point attempts in the closing seconds.
“Sometimes you have to be lucky and we were lucky in the end,” Kattash admitted.
Leaf scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and said the team is starting to find itself.
“It’s been a process for all of us, individually and as a team. And you’re starting to see those things come to fruition,” he said.
The four-game winning streak coincides with the arrival of Lundberg, who joined the club prior to Round 13 from Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. The 29-year-old veteran guard has averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the four wins.
“I’m just trying to get acclimated into the concepts and system. I’m just trying to win games, ultimately. That’s what we’re doing right now, so I am very happy,” said Lundberg.
Still, both Leaf and Lundberg don’t want to get too excited about things just yet.
“We’re just going to keep our heads down and block out any noise we might hear – good or bad – and keep the process going,” said Leaf, before Lundberg added: “We just have to stay humble and keep working every day. We have a really talented group and if we just stay even-keeled and work hard every day, we can compete this season.”
Valencia came into the game on a five-game winning streak, but head coach Pedro Martinez now has material to work on with his team after dropping to 11-6, including 4-5 on the road.
“We have to give credit to their defense. It was good defense. We didn’t find good open shots. And that is because Maccabi played good defense and we need to understand that sometimes it will be more difficult,” said the coach.
Valencia shot just 25.6% on three-pointers, well below its average of 38.0% coming into the game. But defending the perimeter has been one of Maccabi’s strengths defensively, allowing teams to shoot just 33.5% – good for fourth-best in the league.
Kameron Taylor scored 15 points and Brancou Badio had 14 points, but the duo combined for only 5 of 15 from long range. And Valencia could not take advantage of 18 offensive rebounds.
It was just Maccabi’s special night.
