The Israeli champions beat Real 103-100 in overtime at Madrid. Halperin scored a huge three, Morris led with 23 points
Maccabi Tel Aviv sealed a place in the Euroleague quarter-finals Thursday night with a 103-100 away win over Real Madrid.
The victory ended a run of 21 home victories in the competition for the Spanish side.
Maccabi sealed the narrow win in overtime, which was forced after a three-pointer by Yotam Halperin.
A victory next Thursday against Lithuanian side Zalgiris Kaunas will assure Maccabi of first place in group F and give Tel Aviv home advantage in the next stage (best-of-three series).
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Terence Morris led the winners with 23 points on 4-for-5 three-pointers and 13 rebounds. Yotam Halperin and Nikola Vujcic each added 13 points while Esteban Batista got 10 for Maccabi. Felipe Reyes led Madrid with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Axel Hervelle also posted a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, Louis Bullock added 17 points and 7 assists.
Real Madrid led 58-45 right after the break. Halperin and an outstanding Vujcic led Maccabi's rally and gave the guests a 70-71 edge after 30 minutes. It all came down to the final 2 minutes of regulation, as three-pointers by Morris and Halperin allowed Maccabi to force overtime, 89-89. Derrick Sharp became the game hero by hitting 6-for-6 free throws in the final 23 seconds to win the game for Maccabi. Euroleague Basketball honoured Real Madrid and its legends in a short, emotional pre-game ceremony as part of the 50 Years of European Club Basketball celebration.
