With two minutes to go. Hapoel Migdal Jeruslaem led 75-73 after a three pointer by the excellent Ricky Paulding. Nikola Vujcic evened the score, William Avery fouled out, Anthony Parker made the two free throws to give Maccabi a 77-75 lead.
Jayson Wells made one free throw and then, with 61 seconds from time, Parker made an incredible basket to make the score 79-76. With 21 seconds to go Derrick Sharp connected with a three pointer from the corner and 82-76. Final score 84-78 and Maccabi’s 20th Premier League win of the season.
Like in the first round game in Malha, Hapoel Jerusalem gave Maccabi a great fight. They led 27-19 at the end of the first quarter and 48-39 at half time. Jerusalem led 59-52 but a 7-0 run by Maccabi, made it 59-59 at the end of the third. Maccabi had a 71-67 before the exciting climax.
Maccabi had a slight advantage in rebounds (34-31) but Jerusalem pulled down 15 offensive rbds. The Yellows dished out 22 assists (Saras 7) and made 8 blocked shots (Baston 5) to none by the visitors. Maccabi players had 59% FG to 33% by Jerusalem. Both teams had a poor evening with their free throws: 66% for Maccabi and 57% for Jerusalem.
Anthony Parker was the MVP for the night with 22 pts in 67& FG, 5 rbds, 5 ass & 2 bsts.