The Yellow & Blue 20:0 run led the path to the impressive overall win over the Lithuanian squad. 5 Maccabi players scored in double figures as Dorsey and Jones led the way with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Bender contributed 11 points
Tyler Dorsey led five players in double figures with 16 points, Chris Jones added 15 (season-high). Dragan Bender contributed 11 points for a EuroLeague career-high as Scottie Wilbekin, and Elijah Bryant tallied 10 points each. Dori Sahar scored his first points in the European competition.
Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Sandy Cohen, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic opened in Maccabi’s starting five. On the other end, Thomas Walkup, Marius Grigonis, Steve Vasturia, Nigel Hayes, and Joffrey Lauvergne began for the Lithuanian squad.
Vastoria lobbed an alley-oop to Lauvergne, who slammed it down, and Walkup added two floaters for the visitors while Bryant scored Maccabi’s first four of the night, 4:8. Zizic blocked the driving Walkup, which led to a Caloiaro corner triple, and next possession, Bryant dove to a loose ball and found Cohen for another three, 12:10. Grigonis tied the game at 12, but then Chris Jones (7 1st quarter points) and Dragan Bender led the Yellow & Blue to a 12:2 stretch to close out the first 10 minutes, 24:14.
Jones, Wilbekin, Tyler Dorsey, Oz Blayzer, and Bender continued the incredible run stopping the Greens scoreless for six consecutive minutes, scoring 20 straight points opening a 22 point margin, 36:14. Lukas Lekavicius closed the run, but the Yellow & Blue three-point mania continued as Wilbekin and Dorsey connected for triples, increasing the advantage up to 28. Zizic and Wilbekin closed out an unbelievable 53 point first half and a 30 point edge, 53:23.
Caloiaro converted Maccabi’s first four points of the second half, and Wilbekin lobbed an alley-oop pass to Bryant, who laid it home, which led to a Martin Schiller timeout, 59:27. The Yellow & Blue added another highlight-reel as Caloiaro tossed another alley-oop, this time to the flying Zizic, who slammed it down with one hand. Jones tallied his 13th point of the night with two buckets in the paint, while on the other end, Walkup led an 8:2 run, scoring back to back mid-range jumpers, cutting the advantage to 25. Bender drilled his third shot from deep, finishing the third period with a 72:44 advantage.
The tremendous offensive and defensive night continued as Dorsey threw a behind the back pass to the wide-open Zizic, who slammed it home, and Wilbekin added his 10th of the contest bringing the lead back to 30, 79:49 midway through the quarter. Jankunas converted a three-point play, and Dori Sahar laid in his first two EuroLeague points for the night’s final points. Maccabi outruns Zalgiris 85:57.
