Panathinaikos 
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv Panathinaikos
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Playoffs Game 2: Maccabi in search for a repeat performance
After dealing the first blow in the EuroLeague Playoffs series against Panathinaikos, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will try to shock the OAKA arena again and improve to a 2-0 lead. The yellows will return to Pao’s home court on Thursday (9:15 PM Israel Time, 2:15 PM ET), in an attempt to make a second step towards the Final Four in Berlin.
Maccabi won 91-87 in the first bout on Tuesday, even after Wade Baldwin IV went out with a hamstring injury. Tests revealed the guard suffers from a minor hamstring tear and is not likely to play in game 2.
“It’s great that we won game 1, but we can’t get too excited”, said Josh Nebo. “There’s still a long series ahead, there’s a lot of things we need to clear up and get better at. [Ahead of] game 2 we have to recover our bodies and get mentally and physically ready”.
Coach Oded Kattash will try and keep his players’ feet on the ground, remembering how last year’s series against Monaco also began with a road win – but ended with a 2-3 series loss. On the flipside, Maccabi’s previous Playoffs win – beating Milano 3-1 a decade ago – started off with a similarly dramatic away win.
Panathinaikos evens series at 1-1
Panathinaikos ran away with game 2 of the EuroLeague Playoffs series, and tied it at 1 game apiece. The greens defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 95-79 in a raucous OAKA on Thursday, with the two teams scheduled to face off for game 3 on Tuesday in Belgrade.
The yellows fought back from an 18-point deficit and came as close as 3 points in the fourth quarter. But playing without injured Wade Baldwin IV, Maccabi lacked firepower and could not stop Pao from pulling away in the final minutes.
Lorenzo Brown finished as Maccabi’s top scorer with 18 points and 6 assists, while both Jake Cohen and Antonius Cleveland stepped up with 12 points each. But Oded Kattash suffered only his second loss in 27 games dating back to early February.
