Hapoel Jerusalem couldn't stop Dynamo Moscow from maintaining its perfect record.
By SHARON SOLOMON
Hapoel Jerusalem, with a very poor all round performance, couldn't stop Dynamo Moscow from maintaining its perfect record in European competition, going down 86-68 on Tuesday in a ULEB Cup match in Moscow.
Erez Edelstein's team came into the contest on a four-game winning streak, but lost Matan Naor in the opening stages of the game due to flu-like symptoms.
The hosts broke down the Jerusalem defence with some solid pick-and-roll moves and made a 10-0 run in the first quarter, thanks to six points by Ruben Douglas.
Roger Mason tried to reply with a barrage of three-point attempts, but the Russians didn't allow Mason good looks and forced the swingman into a poor shooting percentage.
Dynamo solidified its lead in the second quarter with Mire Chatman attacking the basket and drawing fouls from the Jerusalem big men. Chatman had 12 points in the first half, helping the hosts led 50-32 at the break. Jerusalem registered 12 turnovers during the half and made many wrong decisions in offence.
Horace Jenkins, who struggled in the first half, came out for the second half in a aggressive frame of mind, crashing the boards and taking the ball to the rim. Jenkins scored 19 points in the game.
Ido Kozikaro fouled out with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter, leaving the visitors with no inner defensive presence. Kozikaro had nine points and grabbed three boards in just 24 minutes.
Douglas had an excellent game and made five of seven shots from beyond the arch on the way to 19 points.
But the man of the match for Dynamo was center Lazaros Papadopolos, who finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and added four steals, four assists and three blocked shots.
With five different players scoring in double figures, the Russian side proved to be too good for the visitors.
Jerusalem's Meir Tapiro scored only four points, and gave up eight turnovers.