In a hard-fought Game 5, the french rivals ran away to a 97:86 victory to punch their ticker to the Final Four. Baldwin had 27 points. On Sunday: Back to the local league with the Tel Aviv Derby
Oded Kattash’s men had their sights set on becoming the first-ever EuroLeague team to win Game 5 on the road, and things looked good when they led 79:76 entering the final five minutes of the game. But Monaco scored 10 straight points, in large part because of defensive errors that sent Jordan Loyd to the line. From that point on, the home team took over and ran away with the win.
Wade Baldwin was Maccabi’s main man, as he has been throughout the series. The American guard scored 27 points, while alse dishing 7 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds. Jarell Martin and Lorenzo Brown added 12 points each, while both John DiBartolomeo and Darrun Hilliard had 10.
Maccabi will now have to switch gears and approach the final goal of the season: winning the Israeli championship. It starts on Sunday at Menora with the Tel Aviv Derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv, in the regular season’s last game. A win will secure Maccabi’s top spot in the standings and home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
