Maccabi Tel Aviv wrapped up their 6th win in a row in EuroLeague play with an 85-66 victory over Milano as they moved their record to 19-13 with two games remaining in the regular season. While the yellow-and-blue haven’t officially yet clinched a playoff berth they will be able to do just that from their living rooms on Friday night should Baskonia, Zalgiris or Partizan lose.

Oded Katash’s squad came out strong in the first quarter as Lorenzo Brown, Wade Baldwin and Jake Cohen all put their mark on the game while Roman Sorkin did the same in the second frame to give Maccabi a 53-36 lead. However, Milano and Shabazz Napier started chipping away at the lead but key triples by Jarell Martin and Baldwin along with a dominant final frame handed the yellow-and-blue the win.

Sorkin led the way with 18 points, Brown added 17 points and 7 assists while Baldwin scored 15 points in the win. Napier paced the visitors with 15 points and Shavon Shields scored 14 points in the loss.

“We got two wins in a tough Italian week, it’s never easy in double weeks,” Oded Katash noted after the win. “We controlled the tempo in the first half but the third quarter was their tempo and we struggled. We played against a high level defensive team and I am very a happy that we found our rhythm at the end.”

“Maccabi played a very good game,” Milano bench boss Ettore Messina began. “We had a good stretch but we made childish fouls and the level of competitiveness wasn’t there. We found our chemistry in the second half, but when we were down by 6 and missed a pair of open 3-pointers and then when we were down by 10 we missed 4 straight free throws.”

Roman Sorkin also spoke about the victory, “It’s a big win for us. We’ve been fighting all season with a new team and things started coming together for us. What makes this place so special is the fans. They are part of us and give us the energy, they are the best fans in the EuroLeague and probably the world.”

Lorenzo Brown, Wade Baldwin and Jake Cohen wiped out an early Milano advantage as Maccabi Tel Aviv grabbed a 11-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot continued to score to keep the visitors competitive but Josh Nebo, Bonzie Colson and Roman Sorkin with points from the inside and outside cancelled out baskets by Shavon Shields to keep the yellow-and-blue ahead 29-21.

Deshaun Thomas led off the second quarter with a pair from deep while Sorkin responded with points in the paint, while Jarell Martin, Bonzie Colson and Brown with a 3-point play also scored to keep Maccabi in front 43-29 with 5:20 remaining in the first half. Shields went from downtown, Nicolo Melli scored off the backboard, John Dibartolomeo and Brown answered with a triple as Sorkin finished off the half with a dunk at the end of the 24-second clock to give Maccabi a 53-36 lead.

Shields started the third quarter with a 3-pointer, Baldwin went in on Kyle Hines to draw a foul and then followed that up with a layup down the gut of the paint but Shabazz Napier drained a pair from deep to cut the Maccabi lead to 57-50 midway through the period. Martin came out of the timeout with a timely triple, Nebo put in a reverse dunk on a 3-point play, Baldwin drained a 3-pointer off a give and go with Darrun Hilliard to keep the yellow-and-blue up 66-56 after thirty minutes of action.

Kevin Pangos and Shields each scored to begin the fourth quarter, Martin came back with a 3-pointer and Sorkin added points to bump the Maccabi lead to 73-62 with 5:20 left in regulation time. Dibartolomeo drained a corner 3-ball, Brown hit a midrange, Colson scored inside, Brown dialled long distance as Maccabi took the 19-point win.