Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped by Panathinaikos 85-83 as Lorenzo Brown hit the game winning free throws to give the yellow-and-blue a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-5 Euroleague quarterfinal clash. With the win, Oded Katash’s squad will have a chance to wrap up the series and punch their ticket to the Final Four with a victory in game four slated for Thursday (21:45 Israel time).

With over 1,000 fans who traveled to Belgrade for Maccabi’s “home away from home” game at Pionir Arena in Serbia due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, in order to provide the club with a true home game atmosphere which they had lacked all season long, the yellow-and-blue came flying out of the gate with Bonzie Colson scoring at will to give the hosts a 23-11 lead after the first quarter.

Katash’s crew continued to find points a plenty as Josh Nebo started to heat up inside, however, Ioannis Papapetrou and Kendrick Nunn kept Panathinaikos hanging around but down 46-37 at halftime.

Nebo took control of the third quarter but Papapetrou and Mathias Lessort again kept the Ergin Ataman’s team in the game, but a late triple by Lorenzo Brown kept Maccabi ahead 67-56 heading into the final frame. Nunn and Papapetrou again cut down the advantage and drew PAO even at 83-83 but Grant’s foul and Brown’s free throws handed Maccabi the win.

“Wow, overall we deserved to win this game we had the right energy,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said. “I am really proud of the players. We’re excited and happy to be here. We have two days to recover, make sure we don’t haver the same scenario as this game and we have to come out with the same energy.”

“We missed the jump ball and didn’t take it,” Panathinaikos Head Coach Ergin Ataman. “We made a stupid foul with 2 seconds left and we missed a game winning shot. Maccabi won and it’s 2-1. The game is 40 minutes we had the last shot to win the game so I am satisfied. We didn’t play well especially in the first half and we need to start the game better. We didn’t play good basketball to start the game.”

The game MVP Josh Nebo reflected on the victory and if Maccabi can close the series out in game four, “The biggest thing for me was that we got the win. I’m glad I was able to help the team and that’s the most important thing that we got the win. Panathinaikos is a very good team so they’re going to come out ready to play and we got to leave our hearts on the court and try our best to get the win. It won’t be easy so we have to see how the game goes.”

Nebo scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Brown added 16 points and 8 assists while Colson chipped in with 13 points in the win. Nunn scored 25 points, Papapetrou scored 17 points and Lessort scored 14 points in the loss.

Bonzie Colson hit a turnaround jumper and added a 3-point play to get Maccabi Tel Aviv rolling, Josh Nebo dunked, Lorenzo Brown and John Dibartolomeo scored as well to give the hosts a 11-4 midway through the first quarter. Ioannis Papapetrou scored inside, Jasiel Rivero answered, Konstantinos Mitoglou came right back with a deuce, Brown came off the glass with points, Roman Sorkin scored as well while Antonius Cleveland dunked to give the yellow-and-blue a 23-11 lead after ten minutes of play.

Papapetrou and Rivero traded buckets to begin the second quarter, Luca Vildoza and James Webb traded triples, Papapetrou joined the long distance party but Webb kept finding points to keep Oded Katash’s team in front 32-21 with 5:26 left in the first half. Kendrick Nunn scored his first points of the game, Vildoza and Cleveland went back and forth from downtown, Nebo scored a pair of baskets, as Mitoglou and Nunn both went from deep but Maccabi stayed ahead 46-37 at halftime.

Nunn opened up the third quarter with a deuce, Nebo scored inside and Colson found points from the outside, Jake Cohen went from deep and so did Mitoglou as the yellow-and-blue kept the lead 57-44 midway through the frame. Rivero cleaned up Tamir Blatt’s show while the latter then scored himself, Jerian Grant, Lessort and Papapetrou scored to keep Ergin Ataman’s team in the game but a Brown triple made sure that Maccabi stayed in front by double digits 67-56 after thirty minutes of action.

Nebo dunked with authority to get the fourth quarter underway, Nunn and Vildoza went from downtown, Brown put in a pair of baskets, Papapetrou scored inside as did Nebo, Brown and Nunn traded triples and Lessort scored as Panathinaikos cut the lead down to 78-70 with 5:01 remaining in regulation time. Nebo dunked, Papapetrou and Nunn went from beyond the arc, Lessort put in a rebound and Nunn went from deep again and Lessort split his free throws to tie the game up at 83-83 with 42 seconds left.

However, with under 3 seconds left in the game, Grant fouled Brown who hit his shots from the charity stripe and Nunn missed a last gasp effort to win the game as Maccabi came away with the razor thin victory to take a 2-1 series lead.