Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost their first home Euroleague game of the 2015-16 season, 93-82 to Unicaja Malaga. Rochestie led Maccabi’s scorers with 18 points.
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By Amy Samin
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost their first home Euroleague game of the 2015-16 season, 93-82 to Unicaja Malaga. Taylor Rochestie led Maccabi’s scorers with 18 points and 7 assists, Trevor Mbakwe added 17 points and 6 rebounds, Devin Smith contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Jordan Farmar finished with 13 points and 5 assists.
Starters for Maccabi were Devin Smith, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon, Jordan Farmar, and Arinze Onuaku. The Spaniards got off to a strong start, running to 10-2 in the first four minutes until a slam by Trevor Mbakwe and a triple by Farmar got Maccabi back on the scoreboard. Malaga soon responded, claiming a double digit lead halfway through the period, 17-7. A layup by Smith, five straight by Farmar, and a bucket by Sylven Landesberg cut the deficit to 21-16 with two minutes left, and Landesberg closed out the period with points from downtown, 24-21 to Malaga.
Maccabi stayed close in the early minutes of the second quarter, with another bucket by Landesberg putting Maccabi within one despite two straight three pointers by Nedovic of Malaga, 30-29 after three minutes. The teams traded baskets until a huge triple by Taylor Rochestie tied the score at 38 with three minutes left in the half. It didn’t take Malaga long to reclaim the lead, but Mbakwe, Dragan Bender, and Farmar combined to tie the score at 45 with a minute on the clock. Mbakwe gave Maccabi their first lead in the game from the charity stripe, but the half ended with the score 47-47.
The visitors began the second half with a 7-0 run that put them up 54-47 in two minutes. Rochestie and Smith woke the yellows up, and Mbakwe with a great offensive rebound cut Malaga’s lead down to only one point, 59-58 halfway through the quarter. The Spaniards remained unshaken, and points by former Maccabi player Richard Hendrix put their lead back up to 8. A nice jump shot by Rochestie and Pnini from the foul line put Maccabi within five as the period ended, 68-63.
Ohayon and Pnini combined for five to make it 71-68 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but once again Malaga responded from downtown, 76-68 with eight minutes left in the game. Rochestie and Smith with five straight and Mbakwe from the foul line put the yellows within two, 82-80 with less than four minutes left, but Malaga refused to back down and reopened their lead to eleven with one minute remaining. In the end, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost their Euroleague home opener 93-82 to Unicaja Malaga.
