Mac TA makes it 10 straight with Hap J’lem rout

Pargo’s rare night and dominant second half see yellow-and-blue claim 20-point victory over Hapoel.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi Tel Aviv guard Jeremy Pargo (photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
Maccabi Tel Aviv guard Jeremy Pargo
(photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
A sensational scoring night by Jeremy Pargo ensured Maccabi Tel Aviv avenged its record defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem earlier this season, claiming a 96-76 win at Yad Eliyahu Arena on Sunday night.
Maccabi suffered its heaviest-ever loss to a local team at the start of November, dropping to a 93-63 loss at the Jerusalem Arena.
After a poor start on Sunday, Jerusalem bounced back to take a one-point edge into the break (47-46), but it had no answer for Pargo in the second half, with the American guard finishing the night with 34 points, including six three-pointers, while also registering eight assists.
“They got us pretty good in Jerusalem and we wanted to win this game no matter what,” said Pargo. “I couldn’t be prouder of my teammates.”
Marquez Haynes added 17 points for Maccabi, which hit 15-of-27 three-point attempts to improve to 14-2 in the BSL with its 10th straight win, building on Thursday’s impressive Euroleague victory over Barcelona.
Bracey Wright had 17 points for Jerusalem, which fell to 10-6 with its sixth defeat from the past seven games.
Maccabi picked up where it left off on Thursday, with a Pargo three-pointer midway through the first period already taking the yellow-and-blue’s gap to double- digits (18-6). Devin Smith’s third triple of the first quarter ensured Tel Aviv still held a 12-point margin (29-17) after 10 minutes, but the second period would belong to Jerusalem.
Two Haynes threes kept the momentum on Maccabi’s side (40- 31), but the yellow-and-blue lost its way in the final five minutes of the first half, committing unnecessary turnovers and playing lax defense which allowed Jerusalem to take a 47-46 halftime lead.
The game remained tight to start the second half, but Maccabi slowly but surely opened a gap as the third quarter drew to a close.
Another Haynes three took Maccabi’s lead to 11 points (71- 60) with 10 minutes to play and it would only get worse for Jerusalem after that.
Also Sunday, Maccabi Rishon Lezion (10-6) returned to winning ways after two consecutive defeats and snapped Hapoel Holon’s (9-7) three-game winning streak with a 79-68 win.
Rishon led by as many as 14 points (20-6) after a sensational start, but Holon replied with a 21-6 run and a tight game would ensue.
The winner was decided in the final minutes, with Rishon holding Holon to just two points, ending the game with an 11-2 surge.
Jackie Carmichael led Rishon with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Sean Evans finished with 17 points and 10 boards for Holon.
On Monday, Bnei Herzliya (5-10) hosts Ironi Nahariya (5-10), Maccabi Haifa (6-9) welcomes Ironi Ness Ziona (10-5) and Hapoel Eilat (6-9) visits Maccabi Ashdod (3-12).