Maccabi Tel Aviv powers over Prokrom

It took a half for them to get going, but there was no stopping the reigning Euroleague champions in the second half.

By ALLON SINAI
mac TA 88 (photo credit: )
mac TA 88
(photo credit: )
It took a half for them to get going, but there was no stopping the reigning Euroleague champions in the second half. Maccabi Tel Aviv continued its good form of recent weeks, routing Prokom Trefl Sopot 81-59 in Poland in Euroleague Group B game on Thursday. Tel Aviv only led by two points after a poor first half, but a 23-5 run at the start of the fourth quarter secured Maccabi's Week 8 victory. The win meant Maccabi won consecutive game for the first time this season in the Euroleague and that the yellow-and-blue will go into the New Year break in third place. Anthony Parker was at his best for Maccabi on both ends of the court, leading the team with a season-high 19 points. Parker ended the game with a perfect shooting percentage, 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Parker also grabbed seven rebounds and was Maccabi's main man on defense. Sopot began the game well and shut down Tel Aviv's offense. Maccabi was unable to stop the Polish team on defense and the hosts opened a 16-8 lead thanks to guard Tomas Pacesas. Maccabi reacted immediately and its famed offense began to click. The yellow-and-blue went on an 11-0 run in the last three minutes of the quarter and ended the period with a 19-16 lead. Maccabi continued its surge at the start of the second quarter and opened up a 29-18 lead. Hungarian guard Istvan Nemeth got Prokom's first field goal after a 10-minute drought to close Maccabi's lead. Prokom went on a 12-2 quarter-ending run, reducing Maccabi's lead to a mere two points. Tel Aviv's offense was stopped at the end of the period and the half ended 34-32 to Maccabi. Maccabi was fortunate to go into the half with the lead after Prokom struggled from beyond the arc (5-for-17). Neither team played consistently well in the third quarter, a continuation of the first half, but Maccabi did manage a 13-3 run midway through the quarter to end the period with a 54-46 lead. Maccabi began the fourth quarter with the intention of putting the game beyond Prokom's reach. A Derrick Sharp three pointer at the start of the quarter gave Maccabi a 13-point lead which seemed to deflate Prokom. Tel Aviv continued to build on its lead and strolled to the win. Maccabi hosts Olympiacos in its next Euroleague game in two weeks.