What was considered as a challenging and dangerous mano a mano, turned out to be a one-sided show. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv delivered a masterclass en route to a EuroLeague playoffs birth, with an exhilirating 113-85 home victory over Baskonia in the Play-In on Tuesday. Oded Kattash and his squad earned the 7th seed, setting up a quarter-finals series against Panathinaikos starting next week.
Some 300 fans showed up in the Belgrade Arena – no more were allowed due to security concerns – creating an different atmosphere than previous “home” games in the Serb capital. And with their support, Maccabi jumped on their rivals from the start, led by a vintage Lorenzo Brown performance.
Maccabi’s point guard notched a season-high 29 points, making 7 three pointers (a career high) out of 8 attempts, while also dishing out 5 assists. Alongside him, Wade Baldwin IV had 26 points of his own, but his biggest contribution was probably his big efforts to keep Baskonia star Markus Howard at bay. In all, the yellows hit a club-record 19 three pointers in the game, and the Basques never stood a chance.
“It’s a beautiful feeling right now”, shared Brown, “Driving all year, going through adversity, but we’ve been sticking with it, staying together, and that’s the most important part for our team. It’s been a long year for me, playing this whole year through injury and a few other things as well, but we’ve been pushing through it and letting everything flow by.”
