Maccabi Tel Aviv crushed Bnei Herzliya 137-75 as eight different players scored in double figures in a dominant performance ahead of the playoffs.
The round of games was also overshadowed by the death of Hapoel Galil Elyon’s Israeli guard Raz Adam last week at the age of 26 in a car accident.
Oded Katash’s side set the tone immediately, hitting from beyond the arc throughout the opening quarter as Tamir Blatt knocked down five three-pointers while Gur Lavy and Lonnie Walker returned from injury and David Efianayi made his debut for the yellow-and-blue.
Blatt led the way with 17 points, Lavy added 16, while Iffe Lundberg and Will Rayman had 15 apiece. Justin Edler-Davis scored 23 points for Herzliya.
“This was a good game that we began properly from both sides of the court,” Katash said. “We didn’t expect to win by this gap but we are really playing and doing things well ahead of the playoffs. The Israeli league is different than the Euroleague, and we are really getting into that groove.”
Katash also praised Lavy’s return from injury.
“Gur Lavy coming back is great, and he’s an excellent player. He’s a quality player and an Israeli, and we missed a player for this position as we also didn’t have TJ Leaf for some time.”
Herzliya coach Yehu Orland admitted his team struggled from the outset.
“The summary of the game was clear, and we didn’t have a good performance, and we have to improve before we begin the playoffs,” he said.
Prior to the playoffs, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv – the top two teams in the league standings – will duel on Thursday in a make-up game from Round 21.
Lavy also reflected on his return to action.
“I want to talk about Raz Adam and how much we will miss him,” he said. “The staff did a great job to get me back to action. We have a lot of depth and we will be ready for the playoffs.”
Maccabi stormed out to a 33-11 first-quarter lead as Lundberg, Jaylen Hoard, Rayman, Walker, Lavy, Blatt, and John DiBartolomeo all connected from deep. Hoard and Lundberg continued to score in the second quarter while Oren Sahar and Efianayi added triples as Maccabi took a 67-36 lead.
Blatt, DiBartolomeo, and Sahar continued the scoring in the third quarter while Lundberg and Lavy kept the pressure on as the lead ballooned to 108-50 after 30 minutes. Rayman, Efianayi, and Tamir Gold rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.
Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Ness Ziona 81-75 after outscoring the hosts in the final quarter.
Ish Wainright led the way with six three-pointers and 18 points while Yam Madar added 13 and Levi Randolph scored 11. Bryce Brown scored 23 points for Nes Ziona and James Akinjo added 15.
Coaches, players share condolences for Adam family
Hapoel coach Dimitrios Itoudis began by addressing the death of Raz Adam.
“My condolences to the family and of course, to the team. It’s a terrible way to lose a young man,” he said.
“As for the game, we came in with quite a few issues but with the right mentality. The players fought until the very end and in the end we came away with the win.”
Itoudis credited Ness Ziona for making life difficult for his side.
“It was not an easy game, Ness Ziona needed to win to secure a playoff spot, and they have an excellent team. They showed a different level of motivation after the changes they made. It was a good challenge for us.”
Wainright also paid tribute to Adam before discussing the victory.
“He was a tremendous player and I want to send my condolences to Galil and to his family,” he said. “We knew it would be a good game, they have a good team. I’m happy to return to Israel; the fans and the atmosphere are amazing.”
Also, Maccabi Rishon Lezion defeated Maccabi Ra’anana 93-78 as Josh Freund helped the Wine City club pull away in the second half to secure the victory for Guy Kaplan’s side.
Rishon will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the quarterfinals beginning next week.
Freund scored 20 points while Chaunce Jenkins added 16 in the win. Matt Coleman scored 19 points for Ra’anana in defeat.
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