Maccabi Tel Aviv downs Baskonia 93-79 to keep winning streak intact

Mar 17, 2023 | Holyland Hoops

Maccabi Tel Aviv disposed of Baskonia 93-79 thanks to yet another tremendous performance by Wade Baldwin to take their third straight Euroleague victory. The win was the yellow-and-blue’s third in a row as they moved to 16-13 in Euroleague play.

The yellow-and-blue started the game off well as their offense was clicking on all cylinders with Baldwin and Jarell Martin scoring early on while Josh Nebo already had a double-double by halftime to give Maccabi a 49-45 lead.

However, the beginning of the second half saw Baskonia go on a 15-0 run with Rokas Giedraitis and Daulton Hommes leading the way, but Oded Katash’s responded with a 14-0 run of their own while Baldwin scored 8 straight points to end the period up 72-65. From there Nebo, Lorenzo Brown and Bonzie Colson finished the game off to take the double-digit victory.

Baldwin led the way with 24 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, Nebo checked in with a 15 point and 14 rebound double-double and Brown added 17 points in the win. Rokas Giedraitis paced Baskonia with 18 points and Darius Thompson added 15 points in the loss.

Oded Katash – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


“We played a big part of the game good on defense,” Katash said. “We had some tough minutes but we were playing against a very talented offensive team. We showed character. We put ourselves in a tough situation early in the second half, but we found a way, slowly slowly, step by step, to take the W and I’m proud of the guys. We’ve got to be honest, it wasn’t their best shooting game – some of them because of good defense, some of them pure luck. Sometimes you need that, too.”

Joan Penarroya – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


“We played a good game when we got to 60 points,” Baskonia coach Joan Penarroya began. “But in the last quarter we need to improve and compete better. We won’t score every time but [we should] compete better.”

Wade Baldwin – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Game MVP Wade Baldwin also reflected on the game, “The defensive rebounding for us was key. We showed a lot of different coverages on them. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Bonzie and Jarell, playing out of position, guarding the point guard. Tactically, that’s what we wanted to do. We were able to stay in it, it was a great game and we held Baskonia to 79 points; that’s pretty good. We’re happy that we’re now 16 wins and 13 losses. Lorenzo is the best point guard in EuroLeague and I’m the best combo in EuroLeague. We have five more games left. If we don’t finish out and make the playoffs, that statement holds no weight. But right now we’re playing like the best duo in EuroLeague.”

Josh Nebo – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Josh Nebo looked back on the win, “It was a great team game for us, I feel like we competed very hard. There were times that we went down, we went back up, we went down, but I feel like we showed the character of our team tonight where we were able to play from behind and still not give up on each other. I feel like we deserve the playoffs – the race is very tight for the playoffs so every game is important, but I feel like we’re on the right track.”

Lorenzo Brown – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Lorenzo Brown and Josh Nebo opened the game up with points for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Daulton Hommes went from deep and Maik Kotsar countered for Baskonia but Wade Baldwin and Rafi Menco scored to put the hosts in front 12-9 midway through the first quarter. Vanja Marinkovic scored, John Dibartolomeo and Markus Howard traded 3-point plays, Jarell Martin knocked down a pair of triples and Baldwin scored a floater to keep Maccabi ahead 29-23 after ten minutes of play.

Markus Howard – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Howard led off the second quarter with points from deep, Baldwin came back with a 3-point play, Martin and Brown dialled up long distance, then the latter put in a deuce which was followed up with a triple by Baldwin to bump the lead up to 43-29 with five minutes left in the first half. Darius Thompson scored a pair of baskets, Kotsar and Rokas Giedraitis added points, Sorkin broke the 11-0 run with points while Nebo dunked and scored a put back to already record a double-double to give Oded Katash’s team a 49-45 advantage at halftime.

Markus Howard and Darius Thompson – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Hommes began the third quarter with 5 quick points, Giedraitis went from deep, Thompson put in a 3-point play, Kotsar and Marinkovic added deuces to out the finishing touches on a 15-0 run to start the second half and take a 60-49 lead midway through the frame.

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Brown broke through with a 3-pointer and a layup, Dibartolomeo came back with another triple, Brown with a fadeaway and free throws from Nebo and Baldwin polished off a 14-0 run for Maccabi to put them back in the drivers seat 63-60. Hommes and Sander Raieste scored, Baldwin came back with eight straight points to send the yellow-and-blue into the final frame up 72-65.

Wade Baldwin – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman


Baldwin began the fourth quarter where he left off the third with points, Kotsar responded, Nebo cleaned up the garbage, Brown drained a triple while Colson finished the game off with a trio of buckets to send Maccabi to their third straight Euroleague win.

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