Maccabi Tel Aviv were crushed by Barcelona 100-71 as Kevin Punter scored at will over the course of the second half to break the game open and take the win. The yellow-and-blue kept the game close over the first half as Rokas Jokubaitis, Jasiel Rivero and Roman Sorkin paced Oded Katash’s squad, but Jabari Parker hit his shots from deep and Dario Brizuela found points to give Joan Penarroya’s squad a 42-36 lead at halftime.

However, Kevin Punter started scoring in bunches while Willy Hernangomez also found the bottom of the basket to help Barcelona pull away and take the blowout victory. Rivero scored 16 points, Jokubaitis added 14 points and Sorkin put in 12 points in the loss. Punter led all scorers with 28 points while Hernangomez and Parker scored 14 points a piece in the win.

Next up for Maccabi will be a date at Baskonia on Friday night which will be followed by a State Cup semifinal Derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Monday night in Jerusalem.

“We were there in the first half with our energy,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said. “Second half we turned over the ball, we let them run and get cheap points which allowed them to get into a rhythm. When Barca starts shooting like that the they get the momentum and we were not consistent. At the end of the game we tried to share the time and protect some players. But to win the game free you need to play almost perfectly for 40 minutes and we ned to keep learning from that.”

Rokas Jokubaitis looked ahead to Friday’s game at Baskonia while also reflecting on the loss to Barcelona, “We need to fight, not like today. Three quarters weren’t bad but it wasn’t enough against this type of team. We need to rest and step it up, everybody, because this types of loses aren’t good and we need to step it up before the Cup.”

Jokubatis and Sorkin scored for Maccabi Tel Aviv while Jabari Parker drained a trio of triples for Barcelona to get the game underway. Kevin Punter and Sorkin scored with ease, Willy Hernangomez found points with there quick baskets, John Dibartolomeo and Trevion Williams went from deep but Dario Brizuela gave the hosts a 28-26 lead after ten minutes of play.

Brizuela began the second quarter just as he finished the last with a basket, Dibartolomeo again went from downtown as did Brizuela, Jasiel Rivero put in a 3-point play, Punter drilled one from beyond the arc and Parker scored a deuce while Randolph found the bucket but Joan Penarroya’s team took a 42-36 advantage at halftime.

Blatt opened up the third quarter with a pair from downtown, Punter responded form the outside and inside, Sorkin scored in the paint, Alex Abrines and Tomas Satoransky came back with points, Hernangomez and Brizuela also scored as Rivero tried to keep Maccabi close but Barcelona headed into the final frame with a 74-60 lead.

Chimezie Metu, Juan Nunez and Hernangomez scored to get the fourth quarter off and running, Punter scored three quick triples to blow the game wide open and cruise to the win.