A game-winning layup by Tyrese Rice with six seconds on the clock gave Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv a 68-67 victory over CSKA Moscow in the first semifinal game of the 2014 Euroleague Final Four.
By Amy Samin
After being down by fifteen points late in the third quarter, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv pulled out a miraculous come-from-behind victory over CSKA Moscow, on a game winning layup by Tyrese Rice with six seconds left in the game. The 68-67 victory puts Maccabi in the Final on Sunday, where they will face either FC Barcelona or Real Madrid. David Blu led Maccabi’s scorers with 15 points, Tyrese Rice contributed 13 points, and Ricky Hickman and Alex Tyus each scored 10 points.
Head coach David Blatt named Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon and Andrija ?i?i? as his starters for the game. CSKA came out strong, taking a 14-6 lead after four minutes. A mid-range jumper by Joe Ingles, two straight buckets by Sofo Schortsanitis and a coast to coast layup by Hickman tied the score at 14 a minute later. Points by Khryapa and Weems gave the Russians a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
CSKA extended their lead at the start of the second period, but two straight three pointers by David Blu cut Maccabi’s deficit to 3, 25-22 after three minutes. Ohayon added a trey of his own, but Teodosic responded for CSKA and put their lead at 31-25 at the halfway mark. Sofo got called for his third foul, Maccabi had a hard time scoring, and the Russians extended their lead to 8, 38-30 going into the halftime break.
Despite another triple by Blu early in the third quarter, Maccabi couldn’t find the basket and the Russians’ lead grew to 44-33 close to the halfway mark. Smith sank a three but CSKA responded, running their lead up to fifteen until points from downtown by Hickman ended the period with Maccabi down 55-45.
Tyrese Rice and Alex Tyus went to work in the fourth quarter, cutting CSKA’s advantage down to six, 57-51 after three minutes. Khryapa opened things back up, but a pair of threes by Blu and Hickman and a deuce by Rice narrowed the gap to 62-59 with two minutes left in the game. The Russians scored, but a clutch three by Blu with :13 on the clock put Maccabi within one, 67-66. Blu grabbed a crucial steal and passed to Rice, who cruised down court and laid the ball in, giving Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv an incredible come-from-behind 68-67 victory over CSKA Moscow.
