Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Monaco 91-86 as Lonnie Walker starred in his Euroleague return to help the yellow-and-blue to the road win in the Principality. With the victory, Oded Katash’s squad improved their record to 14-15 to remain in 13th place but moved to just a pair of games in the win column in order to book their place in the Play In postseason round.

Walker and Marcio Santos spurred Maccabi on to a quick start while Alpha Diallo did plenty of damage for Monaco, but an active Jaylen Hoard gave the visitors a 49-40 advantage at halftime. Jaron Blossomgame got hot in the second half while Oshae Brissett did as well but it was Roman Sorkin, Jeff Dowtin and Walker who closed out the win.

Head coach Oded Katash shared his thoughts on the victory, “This was a big win, it wasn’t easy. In the first half we were good offensively. Both they and we made adjustments heading into the second half, which created a very physical and aggressive game. There were a lot of calls that were hard to officiate, but we stayed in it. We were focused, something we didn’t do at the start of the season. I’m very happy. We have an amazing crowd. They are the main reason we are where we are and making this run right now. It’s thanks to our fans.”

The game MVP Lonnie Walker spoke about the victory, “Just resilience. I think we found our groove this second round as far as the team and we continue to fight. We did well holding the possession and holding the lead when it was 1 or 2 points. We push each other in practices also we put ourselves in uncomfortable situations and this translates into the game. But thanks goes all to the fans as it felt like a home game. With their spirit and loudness is kept us focused and with the spirit that we needed. Truly grateful to have this set of people.”

Jaylen Hoard added, “It was a great win and it wasn’t easy. We stayed together and fought to the end and got the win. We’ve been in so many games like that so I feel like all those games gave us experience. We know how to handle these moments better in order to get more wins. Our fans always bring the energy. It turned around our season.”