Having full control throughout the match, Maccabi defeated Armani in Tel Aviv 85-66 for the 32nd game of the Euroleague and mathematically took the qualification for the eight of the competition with a 19-13 record, claiming the last two games home field advantage in the playoffs, while eliminating the Italian champions from the quarter-finals for good 14-18.
The “people’s team” had reached the first half at +10, Armani dropped to -4 in the third period, but two 7-0 runs by the Israelis in the fourth period brought +20 and the final victory.
Sorkin contributed more to this with 18 and Brown with 17 points. For the Italians, Napier stood out with 15 and Shields with 14 points.
The match
The two teams had found the solutions inside the two rackets and neither could escape the score at the beginning of the match. With a 7-0 run and offensive versatility, Maccabi went up 14-7 and maintained +5 to +7 in that period. Sorkin’s three-pointer brought +10 for the “people’s team” and, with Sorkin as the star, Maccabi maintained +7 to +9, with the first quarter ending at 29-21.
Thomas’ back-to-back three-pointers reduced Armani to -5, but Maccabi’s offensive versatility brought a 7-0 run and +11 for the Israelis. Another 5-0 run made it 43-29 for the “people’s team”. Armani found the solutions inside the opponent’s racket for -9, but consecutive three-pointers by the home team brought an 8-0 run and 53-36 at the end of the first half. Maccabi had 19/23 two-pointers, 6/8 shots and 17 rebounds. Armani had 9/15 2-pointers, 6/9 shots and 13 rebounds respectively.
With a 5-0 run early in the third period, Armani dropped to -12, but Baldwin took matters into his own hands and, with a personal 4-0 run, brought Odette Katas’ team +16. Led by Napier, Armani went on a 9-0 run to drop to -7 and with another 4-0 run to -6. Baldwin’s 3-pointer made it 66-56 at the end of the quarter.
Armani was down 66-60 at the start of the fourth period, but Maccabi responded with a 7-0 run initially for 73-60 with offensive polyphony and with a new 7-0 with regionals made it 80-62. With a new 5-0 run, we reached 85-65 at 2’18” and the match ended at 85-66.
The quarters: 29-21, 53-36, 66-56, 85-66
The statistics
Source: Sport Fm
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