Ruined party in Tel Aviv: Crvena Zvezda dominate toothless Maccabi / News - Basketnews.com

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (1-1) welcomed another Turkish Airlines EuroLeague team at their sold-out Menora Mivtachim Arena.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Nikola Kalinic Points 19 Accuracy 6-12 Rebounds 5 Assists 5

However, a disappointing offensive performance led to a 63-75 (10-20, 17-15, 10-19, 24-21) loss against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (1-1).

The Serbian powerhouse started the game strongly and made a final punch after halftime.

Nikola Kalinic made a jumper, Stefan Lazarevic added lay-up, while Nate Wolters knocked two 3-pointers in a row, and Zvezda made a 10-2 run and increased the lead to 17 points just before the end of the third quarter (54-37).

The final quarter was just a technicality, and at one point, the visitors were leading by 21 points (67-46).

For the winners, Kalinic scored 19 points (5/10 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 6/6 FT) and added 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and accumulated 22 PIR.

Wolters added 17 points (4/7 2PT, 3/4 3PT) and added 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 19 PIR.

"We just needed a road win early in the year. It’s always good to win on the road," Wolters said post-game. "We have a lot of guys out right now. It’s been a tough situation early in the year, but we played really well tonight and played good defense and didn’t let them get in a rhythm all night."

Crvena Zvezda jumped out to an impressive 10-0 lead to start the game, winning the first quarter by doubled digits (10-20).

The Red Star extended their advantage to 15 (28-13), but Angelo Caloiaro and Mathias Lessort helped Maccabi come back within single digits at halftime (27-35).

Mathias Lessort was the leader of Maccabi. The French forward finished the game with 16 points (4/5 2PT, 8/10 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 5 drawn fouls, and 21 PIR.

"I think the most important thing for us was first that we didn’t start the game very good," Maccabi coach Sfairopolous admitted. "We had 8 turnovers in the first quarter. We played their rhythm even though we discussed it and analyzed it and said we didn’t want that to happen.

We wanted to protect our home court, but it's a long way to go. It’s too early to cry. We have to work harder to improve our game, learn from our mistakes, learn a lot from this game and play much better the next games."

Maccabi: Scottie Wilbekin 18 (6/10 3PT), Mathias Lessort 16 (4/5 2PT, 8/10 FT), Angelo Caloiaro 9.

Crvena Zvezda: Nikola Kalinic 19 (5/10 2PT, 22 PIR), Nate Wolters 17 (4/7 2PT), Luka Mitrovic 12 (4/7 2PT, 11 REB, 19 PIR).

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