The Yellow & Blue opened up their EuroLeague season with a loss after they rallied back in the fourth quarter. Black led the way with 17 points, Casspi (13) and Hunter (11). Next Thursday: Real Madrid in Spain
Scored for Maccabi: Tarik Black 17 points, Omri Casspi 13 points, 6 rebounds, Othello Hunter 11 points & 8 rebounds, Elijah Bryant 10 points, Scottie Wilbekin 9 points & 3 assists, Nate Wolters 7 points, John Dibartolomeo 6, Quincy Acy (8 rebounds), Yovel Zoosman 4 points each, Deni Avdija played but didn’t score and Jack Cohen did not play. Scored for Khimki: Alexey Shved 22 points & 6 assists, Anthony Gill 18 points, 6 rebounds & 4 assists, and Janis Timma 17 points.
Coach Sfairopoulos decided to open the game with Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Yovel Zoosman, Omri Casspi, and Tarik Black in his starting five. After a Devin Booker basket, Casspi scored Maccabi’s first two points of their European season. The Russians were in control early, going up 7:3, but then the Yellow & Blue started feeding Tarik Black inside the paint that kept them in the game. The big man finished with seven first-quarter points, while on the other end, Janis Timma knocked a trio of threes to give Khimki a 24:21 lead after one.
The second quarter began in the same way it ended, Anthony Gill punished the visitors with Khimki’s sixth three-pointer of the night, however, four Nate Wolters points kept Maccabi in it. The Yellow & Blue couldn’t find answers for Timma, as he helped the Russians take a double-digit advantage midway through the second quarter. In the final minutes, Casspi led the Israeli Champions to reduce Khimki’s lead to 8, 40:48, heading to the locker rooms.
A Quincy Acy dunk kept Maccabi within 4, but once again, the Russian’s behind Jonas Jerebko’s 5 straight points, answered back with a 13:0 run hitting shots from downtown. The Russians scored 27 points in the third to give Khimki a commanding 75:61 lead, going into the final quarter.
John DiBartolomeo hit a three-pointer to make it 80-70, but Alexey Shved answered with a fadeaway jumper to bring the lead back to double digits. Maccabi never gave up, Elijah Bryant and Black reduced the lead to 5, 82:77. With a minute to go, Deni Avdija blocked a shot but missed a three-pointer on the other end. Yovel Zoosman penetrated to the basket, scored and drew a foul, 84:80 with 32 seconds to go. The Young guard missed the free throw, grabbed his own rebound, but Jerebko read the pass and stole the ball to seal the deal. Khimki beats Maccabi 89:83.
