Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv headed to Russia to face Khimki Moscow as part of the fifth EuroLeague fixture of the 2020/21 season (20:00 ISR, live on Sport5 - Channel 55). The opponent's 0-4 record doesn't reflect their overall potential after missing 5-6 significant pieces in their first four European matchdays.

After dropping three tight contests to CSKA Moscow, Bayern Munich, and Olympiacos, Giannis Sfairopoulos's coaching staff took advantage of the weekly workout for closing the gap after starting the preseason in early September. Once again, Yovel Zoosman, Omri Casspi, and John DiBartolomeo won't be available for the coaching staff. 

On the other end, Khimki comes in after suffering four straight defeats to strong EuroLeague opponents - Panathinaikos, Zalgiris Kaunas, Real Madrid, and Saski Baskonia. Rimas Kurtinaitis's squad is excited to welcome back Jordan Mickey, Janis Timma, Evgeny Voronov, who missed the last three fixtures after testing positive for Corona. The most notable return will be Khimki's top player, Alexey Shved, who's recovered from a lingering injury and will make his season debut.



"For us, it's very important to show a different character on the court, to be more concentrated, and to play better in more parts of the game", Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos in the pre-game press conference. "In the past games, we had good moments, but we lost in the final minutes, so it is very important to get the result and execute better the little things we've missed in the previous games. Khimki gets most of their players back after their Corona issues, maybe they won't be in the best shape, but they're still a very talented and dangerous team. 

The Greek coach added what the keys to the game are: "We need to be concentrated defensively to stop them because we are scoring well, but our opponents are scoring many points. We need to play better defense, especially on the road. We're going determined to fight for the best result".

"It's too early to judge the season, we have a lot of games left, and it's a marathon. Everything can happen, the way we lost three games, we could have won them and be now with a 4-0 record. This is a part of the game. It will turn around, I'm very optimistic", Told Sfairopoulos to the reporters about the situation. "There's no pressure because of the latest results, there's pressure because I'm Maccabi Tel Aviv's coach. That is a different type of stress because I put it on myself and on the team by working every day. I trust my players, we are fighters, and we will fight as a team". 



Angelo Caloiaro: "A lot of it is work on ourselves, on getting better tactically at what we can control and things we want to do better. Part of it is also looking at their roster, they've got many guys coming back, so we don't really know the style they're going to play with a full roster. You just go off with what you have and prepare the best you can".

"Well, we did start 0-2 last year, and versus Red Star, Billy Barron had an open shot at the top of the key to make us 0-3, but luckily he missed it. So, it's small things that can turn seasons around, so we are still early in the season, it's only four games in a 30 game season. We've lost a lot of them very close down the stretch, so it's just little details that we've got to work on, and we do, and we will be better".

Scottie Wilbekin: "There's a sense of urgency to prove something to ourselves because we know we're a good team and can be a good team. The sense of urgency is to prove that. Each game is an opportunity for that, and right now, it is a great opportunity".

In EuroLeague play, the clubs met ten times as Maccabi holds a 7:3 advantage against Khimki and 3:2 in the Russian capital. Last season, the teams split home wins. Khimki came away with an 89:83 win over the Yellow & Blue in the first European fixture of the 2019/20 season, while the Tel Avivian's beat the Russians at home 80:77.

Elijah Bryant had a career night, scoring 21 points while adding six rebounds and four assists. Deni Avdija added 11 points, nine rebounds, and four assists as Othello Hunter tallied 10 points and eight rebounds. Alexey Shved's double-double (18 points, ten rebounds) and Jonas Jerebko's 17 points weren't enough against Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad.

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The script seemed identical to the dramatic loss last week against Olympiacos, but this time Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv came away with the 89:87 overtime win over Khimki Moscow. The undisputed leader tonight was Tyler Dorsey, who broke a Yellow & Blue EuroLeague record, drilling eight shots behind the arc, leading the scorers with 26 points, a career-high for the second-year guard. Ante Zizic (16 points), Angelo Caloiaro, Scottie Wilbekin, and Elijah Bryant deserve huge credit for their performance in crunch time.

Giannis Sfairopoulos started with Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Oz Blayzer, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic. On the other end, Alexey Shved, Vyacheslav Zaytsev, Janis Timma, Jonas Jerebko, and Devin Booker opened for Khimki.

The host's started strong, opening a significant margin early as Booker worked inside the pain, and Shved distributed the basketball three times, giving the Russians an early 10 point advantage, 2:12. The Yellow & Blue responded well after the timeout, tightening it defensively as Caloiaro and Wilbekin led an 11:2 stretch, shrinking the lead down to 1, 13:14. Tyler Dorsey notched his second triple to tie it up at 16, but Greg Monroe tallied two from the free-throw line for a 16:18 deficit after 10 minutes.



Chris Jones dished a pass to Othello Hunter, who slammed it hard, and Dorsey added another triple, 21:21. Shved scored five straight points, but Wilbekin and Zizic guided the Yellow & Blue to their first advantage of the night, 27:26. The visitor's defense stepped up, stopping Khimki from scoring for 3 minutes, adding 10 points on the offensive end for a seven-point edge, 33:26. Dorsey knocked in his 4th three-pointer, but Evgeny Voronov scored 5 points in the final minute to cut the lead down to 3 at halftime, 36:33.

Jordan Mickey and Booker regained the lead back to the Russian side, but not for long as Wilbekin drilled a deep triple, and Bryant scored two from the line, 41:37. Mickey hit back to back threes, and Shved added three more as part of a 9:0 Khimki run, 41:46 midway through the third quarter. Hunter blocked Shved at the rim, which led to a transition three by Dorsey, and in the following possession, Wilbekin lobbed to Hunter, who slammed it down, 47:48. 

It stayed close throughout the quarter as Dorsey and Caloiaro hit back to back free throws, but Shved answered from deep, tying it up at 53. Dorsey and Caloiaro continued their astonishing play as the guard drilled his 6th three of the night, and the forward added two more inside to finish the quarter with a 3 point advantage, 58:55.



Monroe put Khimki on his back at the start of the fourth, scoring nine consecutive points in the paint, leading the hosts to a 6 point margin, 58:64. Zizic and Dorsey answered with seven straight points regaining the advantage, 65:64. Shved flipped the lead, burying another three and converting three free throws, 70:72. Caloiaro hit an absurd one leg triple and added another one in the next possession keeping the deficit at 2.

Shved knocked in another three, but Wilbekin laid two in, 78:81 with 31 seconds on the game clock. Hunter came up clutch defensively with a monster block on Jerebko, giving Maccabi a chance. The visitors set a shot for Dorsey, who drained his eighth triple of the night (new club record) that tied the game at 81, forcing overtime.

Booker scored the first two of the extra period, but both teams had difficulties finding the basket, 81:83. After two scoreless minutes, Bryant drilled back to back threes, opening a two-point edge, 87:85. The Yellow & Blue got another stop with a lot of fighting spirit as Hunter hit one of two from the charity strike, 88:85, 24 seconds left.

Maccabi fouled Shved, who notched both free throws, Wilbekin missed the second shot from the line, giving Khimki a chance to win it with a three. However, the Yellow & Blue defense came clutch taking the ball out of Shved's hands, not letting Khimki get out a shot in time. Maccabi beats Khimki in dramatic fashion, 89:87.

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