By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
17 November 2021. That was the last time Maccabi Tel Aviv had won a game in EuroLeague. What transpired after that match (vs. AS Monaco) was eight straight losses and the Israeli powerhouse falling to the 13th spot in the standings.
Maccabi’s struggles came to a halt Thursday (20/1) thanks to an invaluable 81 – 67 over Olympiacos Piraeus that rekindles the Yellows’ playoff hopes.
Ante Zizic dominated inside the paint for Maccabi to finish with 23 points (one point short of his EuroLeague career-high) on 10-12 shots while grabbing six rebounds. Keenan Evans added 14 points and Scottie Wilbekin scored 13.
“First of all I just want to congratulate my teammates and coaching staff,” Zizic said. “We did an amazing job, especially defensively. Offensively we were making shots – my teammates were finding me for easy layups and easy baskets. But tonight, team effort won.”
Giorgos Printezis had 13 points and Tyler Dorsey 12 for an Olympiacos squad that collapsed after the break after a balanced first half. The Reds took a 40 – 41 in the first play after halftime but Zizic made multiple baskets in response and Maccabi proceeded to control the game on both ends to get a double-digit advantage.
Maccabi didn’t need to rely solely on Zizic anymore with its defense now shutting down Olympiacos. The hosts forced their opponents to score just three points over the first eight minutes of the fourth period and turned the game into a rout by even grabbing a 22-point lead, 81 – 59 down the stretch.
“They played with desire and big-time motivation and they deserved to win,” Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas said. “For us, it was the second game in a row that we didn’t play how we wanted. It looks like we didn’t deserve to win because we didn’t have all those important things that create the result. I’m talking about making fouls when necessary, to hustle, to get the 50-50 balls. All of those are important things in basketball. We didn’t deserve to win.”
Limiting the opponent’s action
Maccabi coach Giannis Sfairopoulos particularly emphasized the effort his players made on defense to contain Olympiacos’ usually effective offense.
“We’re very happy that we won this game after eight losses,” Sfairopoulos said. “And we’re very happy that we started to play again in the way I want us to play. That means we play excellent on defense. We kept the first ranked team in points per possession in the league to just 69 points. In the last couple of minutes, we slowed down a little bit. It was very important that we started very good offensively in the second half. And our defense was also good. But I think the key was the beginning of the fourth quarter, they didn’t score in the first 5 minutes. We want to continue to play with habits. I am also happy that we gave happiness to our fans again. And I saw the fans celebrating again in the stands and cheering for us and for the team and being happy again watching the team play good basketball.”