Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv easily defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 90-75 at Nokia Arena. Smith was outstanding with 21 points and 8 rebounds, Landesbeg added 17 points and Tyus had a double double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv had no trouble with Hapoel Tel Aviv, defeating them easily 90-75 at Nokia Arena. Devin Smith was named game MVP with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Sylven Landesberg added 17 points, and Alex Tyus had a huge game with an 11 point, 13 rebound double double. Guy Pnini and Ricky Hickman also played well, contributing 8 points each.
Coach Blatt’s starters were Guy Pnini, Alex Tyus, Yogev Ohayon, Ricky Hickman and Devin Smith. Maccabi opened well, taking a 7-2 lead off points by Hickman and Smith after three and a half minutes. The visitors soon responded, tying things up at 7, but a three pointer by Pnini on the left wing put Maccabi up halfway through the period. Four straight points by Smith and a reverse layup by Sofo made it 16-10 with less than a minute and a half left in the period. Tyrese Rice added a putback, David Blu drained a long two, and the quarter ended with Maccabi leading 20-13.
The start of the second period also belonged to Maccabi, with Sylven Landesberg dishing to Tyus, scoring on the right wing (assist Blu), and throwing down a slam on the fast break thanks to a no-look pass from Rice, 30-15. Rice and Landesberg repeated the play minutes later, and Sofo added a slick dime to Landesberg in the paint for another two. A triple by Pnini and nine points by Smith (including a trey from the right wing) ended the half with Maccabi up 50-28.
Excellent work in the paint at both ends of the court by Tyus kept Maccabi’s lead comfortable, 54-32 after three minutes of action in the third quarter. Another three by Smith and a triple by Hickman made it 60-36 close to the halfway mark, but Hapoel went on a scoring run to close to within 18. Points by Sofo, Rice and Landesberg closed out the third quarter with Maccabi enjoying a 69-46 lead.
A pair of three pointers by Blu and Smith and more points by Landesberg extended Maccabi’s lead to 78-51 four minutes into the fourth quarter. The visitors seemed to have run out of gas, and Maccabi had no trouble keeping them at a disadvantage. Ohayon drained a three, Ben Altit added a dunk and one (alley oop assist by Joe Ingles) and Pnini added another bucket. A flurry of points by the visitors weren’t enough to erase the deficit, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 90-75.
