A big game by D’or Fischer and a clutch-time basket by Carlos Arroyo in the last second of the overtime period give Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv the victory over Le Mans, 82 – 80.
By Amy Samin
Former Maccabi player David Bluthenthal got off to a great start in the first quarter of the game, scoring 5 quick points, giving the visitors an easy lead at the start of the game.
D’or Fischer and Lior Eliyahu took care of closing the gap, and the score stood at 7 – 5 to
A score-tying basket by Marcus Brown put smiles on the faces of the fans in Nokia Arena, but three three-pointers in a row by the French quickly put the score at 16 – 7, five minutes into the quarter.
Carlos Arroyo rose to the challenge, scoring 7 straight points and bringing the score to 20 – 16 with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter.
In spite of that, a lack of concentration on offense by Maccabi enabled
Head coach Efy Birenboim started off the second quarter with a new lineup that included Yaniv Green, Tre Simmons and Jason Williams.
The change helped at the start of the quarter, and Maccabi was able to whittle away at
The visitors took advantage, and their lead grew to 28 – 21, three and a half minutes into the second quarter.
Maccabi’s long scoring drought was finally broken with a three-pointer by Williams and a successful drive to the basket by Brown, which closed the gap to 28 – 26 with four minutes left in the half. Lack of scoring by Maccabi was more than made up for by ferocious defense; Maccabi allowed Le Mans only 7 points in the quarter.
A dunk by Fischer on a pretty assist by Williams closed the quarter on a score of 31 – 30 in favor of the visitors.
Efy’s plan for the second half included bringing the ball into the paint, especially to Fischer, who transformed nearly every pass he got his hands on into points.
The tactic worked, and Maccabi regained the lead for the first time since the early minutes of the first quarter with a layup by Omri Casspi, 38 –
The French fought back, with Bluthenthal scoring yet another three-pointer, but Fischer and Eliyahu kept working their magic, giving Maccabi a 50 – 45 lead with two and a half minutes left in the quarter.
Bluthenthal then scored two more three-pointers in a row, bringing his team to within one point of Maccabi.
A turnover by Simmons with half a minute to go nearly cost Maccabi the lead, but the home team hung on to finish the quarter leading by one, 54 – 53.
Bluthenthal opened the fourth quarter with a shot from outside the arc, which was followed by back and forth scoring by both teams, keeping the lead see-sawing between the two teams until
A basket by Fischer gave Maccabi hope, and closed the gap back down to one, 71 – 70 with half a minute to go and the ball in the hands of the French.
A foul by Maccabi sent Brian Chase to the line, where he returned the lead to
With just seconds left to stave off a loss at home, Brown drained a three-pointer off a pass from Tal Burstein to tie the score at 73.
Chase missed a last gasp shot at the buzzer and the game went into overtime.
The overtime period was a classic battle for control.
A basket by Brown was answered by one from Alain Koffi, and the score stood at 75 – 75, two and a half minutes until the end of the period.
Fischer and Burstein scored off assists from Arroyo, putting the score at 79 – 77, with a minute to go.
The French refused to give up and answered with a three pointer by Dewarick Spencer.
Arroyo, in an uncharacteristic fumble, missed one of two free throws, tying the score at 80.
Maccabi got the ball with ten seconds left on the clock, and Arroyo scored a clutch shot from the top of the key to give Maccabi the win, 82 – 80.
Box Scores:
Maccabi: Fischer 20 points, 7 rebounds; Arroyo 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists; Brown 9 points, 4 assists; Eliyahu 9 points; Simmons 7 points; Williams 5 points; Burstein 4 points; Casspi 4 points; Green 3 points; Batista 2 points.
Le Mans: Bluthenthal 23 points; Chase 14 points; Diot 11 points; Batista 10 points; Koffi 10 points; N’Doye 5 points; Badiane 4 points; Spencer 3 points.
