Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv taught Hapoel Tel Aviv a lesson, thrashing them 90-58 at Nokia Arena. Smith was outstanding with 19 points. Ingles added 14 points and Hickman contributed 12 points.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv crushed cross town rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv in a thrilling 90-58 victory at Nokia Arena. Devin Smith led all scorers with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Joe Ingles added 14 points, Ricky Hickman scored 12 points, Sylven Landesberg contributed 10 points, and Alex Tyus had a double double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Maccabi’s starters were Devin Smith, Alex Tyus, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon and Ricky Hickman. Maccabi opened well, taking a quick 7-2 lead on points from Hickman (dunk), Smith (three pointer) and Tyus (putback). Hapoel finally started playing, and made it a one point game close to the halfway mark in the period. Tyus, who was fantastic in the paint, added points, while a layup and 1 by Pnini and a bucket by Joe Ingles opened up a 17-9 lead for Maccabi with two minutes left in the period. Tyrese Rice scored on a coast to coast layup, but Hapoel went on a mini-run that closed the gap a bit. Ingles scored on the inbounds pass at the buzzer to end the period with the score 21-16.
The second quarter got underway with a triple by Rice on the right wing, but the next few minutes saw the sides trade buckets until halfway through the period Maccabi led 29-23. Smith scored nine straight for Maccabi, and Pnini added a free throw that gave Maccabi a double digit lead going into halftime, 39-29.
Maccabi was on fire as the third quarter started, reaching 51-36 in the first four minutes thanks to two baskets and a steal by Smith, a bucket and 1 from Tyus, points by Pnini and a special delivery from the top of the arc by Hickman. Hapoel tried to respond, but Hickman with a dunk and Ingles with two triples and a floater in the paint combined to make it 62-47 as the period ended.
A three by Ohayon at the top of the arc kicked off the fourth quarter, and Ingles and Smith added points to make it 67-52 after two minutes of action. Soon after, Maccabi went on an 11-0 scoring run crafted by Smith, Rice, Sylven Landesbeg (three pointer) and Pnini (also a three pointer) that made it 78-54 with two minutes left in the game. Hapoel didn’t even try at that point, as Hickman and Landesberg (including a slam dunk at the buzzer) scored at will, leading Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv to a 90-58 victory over cross town rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.
