The Yellow & Blue dropped their third straight EuroLeague game in another tight battle, losing ground in the playoff hunt. Zizic’s 18 points and 10 rebounds weren’t quite enough
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv acknowledged the importance of a road victory in Munich for the playoff run and appeared to be in a great position heading into the final quarter but couldn’t come through with a bitter 70:72 defeat to Bayern Munich. The Israeli champions played their 13th EuroLeague contest in which the game went wire to wire, and the margin ended up at four or lower. With the loss today, Maccabi’s record in those games falls to 4:9 and overall to 10:14 in the European season.
The Yellow & Blue can be encouraged from Omri Casspi’s return, who missed the last month and a half due to a stomach virus. Scottie Wilbekin, who missed the past two contests, contributed 10 points and 5 assists as Ante Zizic led the scorers with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Game Recap:
Maccabi opened the contest with Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Angelo Caloiaro, Dragan Bender, and Ante Ziziz, while Bayern started with Wade Baldwin, Nick Weiler-Babb, Vladimir Lucic, Jajuan Johnson, and Leon Radosevic.
Bayern scored four early points in the first minute, but the Yellow & Blue locked down defensively, stopping the hosts scoreless for the 4:30 minutes as Caloiaro dished three assists to Zizic and Bender, which gave Maccabi an 11:4 lead.
Sandy Cohen (back-to-back triples) and Tyler Dorsey (4 straight points to close out the quarter) came sharply off the bench extending the edge. Ex Maccabi Jalen Reynolds responded on the other end with nine points reducing the margin, 21:18 after 10 minutes.
Sfairopoulos’s squad continued to play smart basketball. Wilbekin dished multiple assists to Zizic inside, later the American guard knocked down a shot from behind the arc, and after over a month out, Omri Casspi returned to the court and immediately laid in two, 32:26.
However, Bayern gained momentum, scoring seven unanswered points grabbing the edge but a Bender three-pointer, and Dorsey recaptured the lead, closing out the first half with a one-point margin, 38:37.
The Yellow & Blue started the second half aggressively, stopping the Reds on two points in the first five minutes as Wilbekin provided 5 points of Maccabi’s 10 points, including a three-point possession, 48:39. Reynolds reduced the margin down to 5, but Chris Jones, with a beautiful drive and layup, maintained the advantage heading to the final 10 minutes, 58:51.
The fourth quarter didn’t start well for Sfairopoulos’s squad as Baldwin scored 5 of Bayern’s 9:2 stretch, tying the game at 60. Baldwin continued his incredible period providing the hosts a four point edge as Zizic scored back-to-back buckets inside, keeping them in the thick of things, 70:66.
40 seconds to the final buzzer, the Croatian big man slammed a dunk, and John DiBartolomeo, with a crucial steal on the defensive end, laid in two, tying the game at 70. Maccabi was close to stealing the ball, but Weiler-Babb drew a foul and converted twice from the free-throw line giving the hosts a two-point advantage.
With 9 seconds left, Wilbekin had one last shot but missed a three on the buzzer. Bayern beat Maccabi in Munich, 72:70.
