By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lorenzo Brown made the difference by sinking two free throws, securing an 85-83 victory for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv against Panathinaikos Aktor and a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five series for a spot in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
Covering for injured Wade Baldwin IV, the 33-year-old point guard was on hand for a two-point lead with 15.5 seconds on the clock but an initial goaltending call was waved off. Following a jump ball won by Josh Nebo, he earned two shots from the charity stripe and made both with 2.6 seconds remaining.
Stretching hopes for a win to the last possession, Kendrick Nunn missed a demanding three-pointer at the buzzer. Trailing throughout Game 3 with the deficit peaking at 18 points, the Greens came back for a tie when Mathias Lessort split two free throws with 42.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“We did not win the jump ball, we made a stupid foul in the last two seconds, and we missed the game shot,” losing head coach Ergin Ataman shared his view on a crazy finish to the third meeting of a Playoffs series.
Stopping a 9-0 run for Panathinaikos, Brown netted a three-pointer to end the third period. From a key effort to keep momentum to adding nine of his 16 points over the last ten minutes. Sidekick on the wing Baldwin (hamstring) remained sidelined along with Rafi Menco (ankle).
“We have two days to recover. We got to make sure it will not be the same scenario as Game 2,” Oded Kattash referred to Thursday’s Game 4 between the EuroLeague giants, “Hopefully we get Wade back.”
Maccabi fans present in Belgrade
Fans making noise in Aleksandar Nikolic Hall boosted his side on Tuesday. Visiting the temporary home of the Yellows shaped their first appearance in a home game of the 2023-24 EuroLeague campaign.
Besides tying his career-high in Europe’s premier club continental competition with 22 points, Nebo added to league-highs with nine rebounds, including four offensive boards. Setting the pace with the five first points of Game 3, Bonzie Colson finished with 13 points.
“We had a big lead and kind of stopped playing, kind of watch the clock waiting for the game to finish,” the leading rebounder of the EuroLeague described the second half, “I am glad we were able to find a way to win.”
“It feels good but not satisfying. We had a big lead going into the fourth,” confirmed Brown commenting on the lack of effort and mishandling an 18-point advantage.
Visibly frustrated during a scoreless first quarter, Nunn bounced back with a game-high 25 points, including five makes from beyond the arc. He scored 13 points in the fourth period with a comeback bid falling narrowly short.
After reaching 2,000 points in the EuroLeague during the second quarter, Ioannis Papapetrou went on to improve his season-high to 17 points. Lessort finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one block against his former team. A seven-game streak of registering at least 12 points and a performance index rating of 21 ended with a scoreless outing for Kostas Sloukas.
In Spain for further medical tests, Juancho Hernangomez (calf) was unavailable for Ataman. Making the trip to Belgrade, team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos joined his counterpart Shimon Mizrahi, who also followed his side.
“We did not play good basketball,” confessed Ataman, “We had the last ball to score but we missed the shot. So, it is 2-1. We will see on Thursday.”