Maccabi Tel Aviv emphatically avenged its only BSL defeat of the season to date
on Monday, thrashing Maccabi Rishon Lezion 72-49 on the road.
Rishon
handed the yellow-and- blue its first defeat to an Israeli team in 10 months at
the end of October, claiming a stunning 81-64 win at Nokia
Arena.
However, the gulf in the quality between the sides was clear for
all to see on Monday, with Tel Aviv outscoring Rishon 38-20 in the second half
to clinch a comfortable victory.
The visitors led by just five points
(34-29) at halftime, but Rishon would score just six points in the first 13
minutes of the second half, with Tel Aviv going on a gamewinning 24-6 run
(58-35) to improve to 13-1 on the season with its 11th straight league
triumph.
Lior Eliyahu led the winners with 18 points, while Shawn James
added 12 points, 13 boards and five blocks for the yellow-and-blue, which lifted
its spirits slightly following its 21-point Euroleague humbling at Khimki Moscow
last Friday and ahead of Thursday’s crucial Top 16 showdown with European
champion Olympiacos.
Julian Wright was the only Rishon player to reach
double- figures, scoring 20 points for the hosts, who dropped to 6-8 on the
season.
Just a single game now separates Rishon in sixth place and
Maccabi Ashdod in 12th and last position, after Ashdod (5-9) beat Bnei Herzliya
(6-8) 86-76 on the road on Monday.
Herzliya, which had only lost to
Maccabi Tel Aviv in its previous five games, held a five-point edge (24-19)
after the first period, but there was nothing to separate the teams at the
break, with the score tied at 46-46.
The game would be decided in the
third frame, with Ashdod outscoring the hosts 23-9 and holding on in the fourth
quarter for its third win in four encounters.
Mardy Collins led Ashdod
with 23 points, while Diamon Simpson contributed 19 points and 12
rebounds.
Romel Beck had 21 points for Herzliya.
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