Euroleague Basketball: Maccabi Tel Aviv overpowers Olimpija 82-65 in Ljubljana

Maccabi Tel Aviv overpow

By ALLON SINAI
maccabi ta slovenia 248.88 AP (photo credit: )
maccabi ta slovenia 248.88 AP
(photo credit: )
Maccabi Tel Aviv claimed its fourth-straight Euroleague victory on Thursday night, defeating Olimpija Ljubljana 82-65 in Slovenia. Ljubljana kept pace with Maccabi for the first three periods, but Tel Aviv raced ahead in the final five minutes to maintain its one-game lead atop of Group C with a 5-1 record. Alan Anderson scored 15 points for Maccabi, with David Bluthenthal adding 14 and Chuck Eidson contributing 13. Vladimir Golubovic and Saso Ozbolt scored 14 points each for Ljubljana, which fell to 1-5 on the season. After a tight start to the game, Ljubljana was the first to take a slender lead, with Golubovic's dunk giving the hosts a 20-15 margin. Maccabi struggled offensively in the first period, but scored the final five points of the quarter, with Guy Pnini's three-pointer ensuring the teams entered the second period tied at 20-20. Olimpija began the second quarter with two straight three-pointers, but it was Maccabi which seized control of the encounter in the subsequent minutes. Tel Aviv went on a 15-0 run (35-26), much to the thanks of Ljubljana coach Jure Zdovc, who completely lost his cool following a Matt Walsh foul on Anderson and was ejected from the game after receiving two technical fouls. D'or Fischer's jumper to end the first half gave Maccabi a 44-36 advantage at the break, but Ljubljana cut the gap in the third period and even regained the lead briefly, before Tel Aviv took a three-point advantage (58-55) into the final 10 minutes. An Ozbolt basket at the start of the fourth quarter put Ljubljana ahead once again (59-58), but Maccabi led by a small margin for most of the period and after Chuck Eidson hit a three with 2:42 to play to open a 72-63 lead the victory was secured.