Clutch Wilbekin, dominant Nunnally-Zizic duo leave Baskonia winless in 2022 / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Tolga Adanali - Getty Images Credit Tolga Adanali - Getty Images

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (11-10) edged out Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (7-14) 94-93 (28-27, 28-23, 15-27, 23-16) and got their 4th EuroLeague home win in a row.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Ante Zizic Points 21 Accuracy 9-9 Rebounds 5 Assists 0

Baskonia suffered their seventh consecutive loss in the EuroLeague.

The fourth quarter went neck-on-neck. Baskonia had plus 3 (88-85) with 2:20 to go, but Neven Spahija got a technical foul, and the margin between the teams was reduced to 2 points (86-88).

John DiBartolomeu drained a clutch triple in the fast-break and Maccabi were up by one (89-88). Matthew Costello answered him with a 2+1 play (91-89) on the other end.

Though, Scottie Wilbekin was not ready to give up, nailing a three-pointer with 30 seconds on the clock (92-91). James Nunnally blocked Alec Peters' shot and forced Baskonia to a 24-second violation. 7 seconds were left to play in the duel.

Scottie Wilbekin was fouled and converted two shots from the charity stripe (94-91). Maccabi used the foul tactic, while Wade Baldwin made two free throws (93-94) with 5 seconds to go.

Baskonia did not manage to commit a foul and the time expired.

Ante Zizic and James Nunnally scored 21 points apiece, while Scottie Wilbekin aided them with 17 points.

Zizic was the man of the match for the winning squad, adding perfect shooting (9/9 2PT, 3/3 FT), 5 rebounds, and 27 PIR to his performance.

"There's a lot going on in this world and basketball is second. There are bigger things than basketball and I'm just happy that we get to do what we love," Nunnally said after the match.

Wade Baldwin put on a show for Baskonia, accumulating 27 points (6/11 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 3/4 FT), 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, and 37 PIR.

"I think in the second half we played better defense but, unfortunately, we didn't complete our possessions. Offensive rebounds killed us. In the end, they scored 2 threes, but I'm happier with our defense in the second half. Though, our boxing out and their offensive rebounds killed the game," commented Neven Spahija.

After the close first half, Wade Baldwin and Rokas Giedraitis initiated a 16-5 run at the start of the third quarter and Baskonia were in front by 5 points (66-61).

Even though Maccabi retook the lead again (67-66), Basques closed the period on a high note, arranging an 11-2 run and having plus 6 (77-71) before the last 10 minutes of the duel.

Keenan Evans, who recently recovered from COVID-19, was still feeling weak and did not play for Maccabi.

Maccabi: Ante Zizic 21 (5 REB), James Nunnally 21, Scottie Wilbekin 17 (6 AST).

Baskonia: Wade Baldwin 27 (7 REB, 8 AST), Rokas Giedraitis 15, Matthew Costello 11 (7 REB), Simone Fontecchio 10.

Highlights

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