Blatt’s Maccabi maintains perfect record in Rishon

Rishon never came close to threatening their illustrious opponents after that and Tel Aviv cruised to a fourth straight league victory.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi 311 (photo credit: BSL)
Maccabi 311
(photo credit: BSL)
Maccabi Tel Aviv overcame a tight first half to claim a comfortable 89-68 victory at Maccabi Rishon Lezion on Monday night, extending its unbeaten start in the BSL season to 4-0.
Tel Aviv only led at the break (40-39) thanks to a Doron Perkins full-court buzzer-beater, but outscored the hosts 49-29 in the second half and continued to build on its momentum from recent weeks.
Besides thrashing its BSL opponents, Tel Aviv has also won two consecutive games in the Euroleague, beating Zalgiris Kaunas and Partizan Belgrade, and will be in great spirits entering Thursday’s continental encounter at BC Khimki Moscow.
Jeremy Pargo led Tel Aviv with 25 points and seven assists on Monday, with Doron Perkins adding 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
“They had a heck of a first half and we were able to withstand it and come out better in the second half and claim a great win,” Pargo said.
Aaron McGhee had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Rishon, which fell to 2-2 with the loss.
Tel Aviv looked weary at the start of the game, allowing Rishon to build a surprise early lead. A McGhee basket gave the hosts a 20-12 advantage, and after 10 minutes Rishon led 23-19.
A Perkins three-pointer at the start of the second period put the yellow-and-blue in front, but Rishon had no intention of folding without a fight and Tel Aviv only led at the break thanks to Perkins’ stunning full-court basket at the buzzer (40-39).
Rishon remained in touch with Tel Aviv at the beginning of the second half, with the score tied at 55-55 six minutes into the third quarter.
However, Effi Birenboim’s men would score only a single point for the remainder of the period, and the visitors were ahead 65-56 with 10 minutes to play after David Blu’s three.
Tel Aviv would continue its run in the fourth frame, scoring nine of the first 12 points of the quarter to open a sizable double-digit margin (74-59).
Rishon never came close to threatening their illustrious opponents after that and Tel Aviv cruised to a fourth straight league victory.