Thanks mostly to Eidson, Maccabi opened up a 20 point lead over the Greeks in an excellent first half, and went on to win despite a tepid second half in Nokia Arena.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi’s starting five was comprised of Andrew Wisniewski, Chuck Eidson, Maciej Lampe, Guy Pnini and Stephane Lasme.
D’or Fischer did not suit up, owing to illness.
Alan Anderson did not play at all.
Vasilis Xanthopolous, Britten Johnsen, Devin Smith, K. Charalampidis, and Ian Vougiokas started for the Greek team.
The home team couldn’t seem to find the basket at the start of the game, and after two minutes the score was only 3 – 2, Panellinios.
A three-pointer from Lampe gave Maccabi their first lead of the game, and Wiz dropped in another three to put the score at 8 –
Maccabi started to run their game, and a stunner by Eidson on a fast break gave Maccabi a 14 – 10 lead.
Another three by Wisniewski put Maccabi up by 7.
Maccabi continued to play well, with five straight from Eidson setting the score at 22 – 13, with a minute left in the period.
Doron Perkins came in off the bench to close out the quarter, with Maccabi in the lead, 24 – 15.
Yaniv Green gave Maccabi their first point of the second quarter after being fouled on his way to the hoop.
Raviv Limonad also had his first minutes of the game.
But the second quarter was dominated by excellent play from Perkins, who racked up steals and assists before shooting one from outer space to put Maccabi up by 17, 38 – 21 with four and a half left on the clock.
Maccabi’s defense was also a star this quarter, keeping the Greeks to only 12 points in the period.
Of the visitors, only Blakney (who once played for Pini on Olympiacos) played well.
Lampe scored off an assist from Lasme, then brought home a layup to end the quarter with Maccabi leading, 44 – 27.
The second half got started with the game-opening five back on the court, but a Greek run chipped away Maccabi’s big lead, 44 –
Blakney kept the visitor’s momentum going and the score reached 47 – 37.
Maccabi’s game slowed down, and Johnsen narrowed the gap to 8 for Panellinios, 49 – 41 with four minutes left in the period.
Lampe, Eidson and Lasme helped open up Maccabi’s lead to 55 – 41 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
Panellinios used the time remaining to once again narrow the gap, and the period ended with Maccabi’s lead only 57 – 48.
Three from Eidson opened the fourth quarter of the game, and an acrobatic shot off the glass by Perkins put Maccabi up 63 – 50 two minutes into the period.
Wiz and Lampe each contributed shots from outside the arc, and with five minutes gone Maccabi led 72 – 55.
With two minutes left, Blakney and Johnsen narrowed the gap to 74 – 64, but Maccabi hung on to take the win, 78 – 67.
Box Scores
Maccabi: Lampe 22 points, 6 rebounds; Perkins 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists; Eidson 15 points; Wisniewski 10 points, 5 assists; Lasme 7 points; Pnini 3 points; Mekel and Green 2 points each.
Limonad played but did not score.
Sharp, Fischer, and Anderson did not play.
Panellinios: Johnsen 19 points; Charalampidis 13 points; Vougiokas 11 points; Blakney 9 points; Smith 8 points; Davis 3 points; Ostojic and Xanthopolous 2 points each.
About Lampe’s 22 points on the night, Pini Gershon said, “He can do more.
He needs to be more aggressive on rebounds and defense.
He’s got another 7 or 8 more years in his career, and maybe he’ll learn that.”
When asked about the game, the coach responded: “We played without Fischer and Anderson, which is 40% of our starting five, and we got into foul trouble.
I can’t tell my players to play aggressively and at the same time tell the referees which fouls to call.
Wisniewski and Perkins played very well today.”
Doron Perkins: “It’s good to come off the bench and produce for the team.
I’m trying to find my spot, but it’s hard coming off the bench.
We’re going to be a great team.”
Andrew Wisniewski added, “I’m trying to go forward and play as fast a game as I can.
I think our big guys are doing well and are ready for the pace of the Euroleague.
We’ve come back after a loss and we’ve fixed a couple of mistakes in preparation for Thursday’s game.”
