By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Saben Lee got the ball, Gabriel Deck was in front of him, but the Maccabi guard took the shot and made it, giving his team the 79-78 win over mighty Real Madrid.
Lee finished the game with 19 points and once more stole the show and the game as Maccabi and Madrid are now tied with a 3-4 record.
He made 9/10 free throws and just 4/12 FG, but that’s a footnote.
“It was thought for me early on, but I kept punching and keep going on”, said Lee after the final buzzer.
Rokas Jukubaitis added 17 points for the winners, who are still missing injured point guard Tamir Blatt.
Mario Hezonja with 18 points and Facundo Campazzo with 16 couldn’t save the day for Madrid, which had some tenths of a second for a last shot, that simply was not enough for Hezonja to produce a miracle.
A thriller at the buzzer
The game was close from wire to wire with constant lead changes. Thanks to Hezonja scoring early 11 points, Madrid led 23-21 at the end of the first period.
In the second, despite a seven-point distance created by the Israelis (36-29) with Jokubaitis reaching the 10-point mark, Campazzo answered with nine straight points to get back the 38-36 lead for Madrid.
Hezonja scored one more basket and Campazzo with a goal-foul had 14 first-half points while Madrid had completed a 14-0 run to close the second period leading 43-36.
With Madrid having the momentum, the “Whites” led by nine (64-55) at the end of the third period and entered the last 10 minutes of the game with a solid advantage.
Maccabi didn’t back down and with a 7-2 made it a four-point game (66-62) with six minutes left. The dogfight continued, Maccabi trimmed the lead to three (72-69) after a three by Jokubaitis but Madrid made it again a six-point game (78-72).
In theory, the Spaniards had it all in check, but Jasiel Rivero with five straight points made it a one-point game (78-77). Madrid had the ball but both Campazzo and Edy Tavares couldn’t score. Maccabi had the last chance with 12.7 seconds left and Saben Lee made the most of it.
“We can reach the goal of a road win yet, but the only thing we can do is to keep fighting and stay together”, said Real Madrid coach Chus Mateo.
Photo credit: EuroLeague