Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Zalgiris 76-62 thanks to strong play from Derrick Williams throughout the 40 minutes to help the Yellow & Blue win their third Euroleague game in a row and move their record to 4-2 on the season.

Derrick Williams – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Ioannis Sfairpoulos’s squad took a quick lead to begin the game but the visitors stormed back to take a 4-point lead after the first quarter. However, that’s when Williams, Ante Zizic and Keenan Evans started scoring in bunches while the defense stifled Jure Zdovc’s team to cruise to the 14-point win.

Ante Zizic & Derrick Williams – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Williams scored 17 points, James Nunnally added 15 points, Zizic scored 14 points and Evans chipped in with 13 points in the win. Arturas Milaknis led Zalgiris with 17 points and Josh Nebo added 10 points in the defeat.

Keenan Evans – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Ante Zizic and Derrick Williams got to work in the paint for Maccabi Tel Aviv with a pair of baskets a piece while Scottie Wilbekin went in for an uncontested layup to take a quick 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Zizic put down a big time dunk, Keenan Evans scored a layup but Janis Strelnieks and Artiras Milaknis started to hit from deep with 3’s a plenty but James Nunnally stopped the 14-0 run, however, points by Lukas Lekavicius gave Zalgiris a 20-16 lead after ten minutes.

James Nunnally – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Nunnally went from downtown to begin the second quarter, Josh Nebo and Williams traded mega dunks at opposite ends while the latter added in a tough layup to help the Yellow & Blue retake the lead 24-22 with 6:18 remaining in the frame. Zizic got busy as he jammed the ball and scored a jump shot, Kameron Taylor drilled a triple as Emmanuel Mudiay and Nebo answered for the visitors but Evans scored free throws to give Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad a 39-30 advantage at halftime.

Josh Nebo – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Evans kissed the glass for a bucket to get the third quarter rolling, Zizic scored inside but Strelnieks went from deep to keep Jure Zdovc’s team hanging around but down 46-34 midway through the period. Niels Giffey nailed a 3-pointer but Williams matched him at the other end, Nunnally put in a basket and Mathias Lessort put in his first points of the game but Lekavicius scored a pair of buckets to keep Maccabi from running away as the hosts stayed in front 58-46 after thirty minutes of action.

Jalen Reynolds – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman
Jalen Reynolds opened the fourth quarter with points inside, Williams scored from the outside and Evans put in a layup to bump the lead quickly up to 65-48 with 7:42 left in regulation time. Nunnally cut into the paint for a layup, Reynolds jammed the ball but Milaknis scored his first 3-pointer since his first quarter trio, Mantas Kalnietis also added points and Giffey did as well to cut the lead to 72-62 with 2:17 left in the frame. However, Nunnally made sure to wrap up the game and put in an acrobatic basket while Zizic added points to wrap up a 76-62 victory.
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