Team effort proved key as Maccabi downed Virtus

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv won its fifth straight game on Tuesday evening, beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 111-80 at Menora Mivtachim Arena. In what was an offensive masterclass from head coach Oded Kattash's side, it was a performance that saw several players come to the fore; this was a true team effort.
After starting off hot and finding itself 15 points ahead at the end of the first quarter, 28-13, Maccabi kept its foot on the gas in the second as it went into halftime with a 29-point lead, 62-33. Those 62 points are the most that Maccabi has ever scored in a half, as its previous best was the 61 it had against AIK Athens in 2004 and Besiktas Istanbul in 2013.
By the time the final buzzer sounded on Tuesday evening, seven Maccabi players had reached double digits for points: Darrun Hilliard with 16, Wade Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown with 14 apiece, Roman Sorkin with 13, Josh Nebo with 12, Bonzie Colson with 11 and Jarell Martin with 10. When a team gets scoring across several players like this, they are going to be hard to stop.
Then there is the way in which the players moved the ball, racking up an all-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague high of 38 assists in the win against Virtus. The unselfish play of Maccabi made it almost unstoppable on the offensive end, with Brown dishing 8 assists and Baldwin recording 7. Hilliard and Jake Cohen had 5 helpers each, while Josh Nebo had 4 to his name.
Typically, PIR is a good indicator of how a team has performed, and Maccabi blew Virtus out of the water in this regard, having a combined PIR of 153, compared to the total PIR of 87 for those on Virtus's squad. The hosts also had eight players record a PIR of 12 or higher, which has only happened on three occasions in the past: for Benetton Basket against ALBA Berlin in 2001-02; for FC Barcelona against LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in 2009-10; and for Olympiacos against Virtus in this current season, 2022-23.
Overall, Maccabi's fans not only enjoyed another wonderful night at Menora Mivtachim Arena, where the team is 13-2 this season, but they witnessed a team-first performance that should put Coach Kattash's side in good stead heading into the playoffs. Maccabi is not yet guaranteed a place in the postseason, but another display like this against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday should be enough to see it get over the line.