Maccabi Tel Aviv made a stunning second half comeback to down Monaco 78-70 as Wade Baldwin scored 21 points to help the hosts notch the win. The victory moved the club’s record to 2-1 as they will now ready for ASVEL Villeurbanne bask at Yad Eliyahu on Thursday night in a Euroleague double week.

The yellow-and-blue had all kinds of problems out of the gate as Jordan Loyd carved up Maccabi to give Monaco a 19-point lead near the end of the second quarter. However, key baskets by Roman Sorkin just ahead of halftime along with some big shots by Baldwin and John Dibartolomeo in the second half together with stifling defense over the final twenty minutes helped Oded Katash’s squad notch the win.

Baldwin led the way with 21 points, Lorenzo Brown added 13 points and 7 assists while Sorkin chipped in with 10 points. Loyd paced Monaco with 21 points and Mike James added 15 points in the win.

“It’s a big big win for us,” Katash said following the win. “We showed character and heart in the second half and that was our best twenty minutes so far. In the first half we weren’t as bad as the score indicated as we missed some shots and had turnovers. I’m happy that we kept fighting for the fans and I am proud of the guys.”

“Without any reason, we stopped playing in the second half,” Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic commented. “It’s hard to explain our organization in the second half. We didn’t have any plan. They had easy points on the fast break, and then after that everybody was scoring. We gave them everything with our bad offense.”

The game MVP Wade Baldwin also commented on the game, “Just get stops and rebounds. Monaco’s team is their team. They went to Game 5 last season and added great pieces. Just stops and rebounds – the keys for us to win games. Our defensive pressure picked up. Everybody accepted the challenge one-on-one. Offensively we found a groove. We found a lineup that was making shots, able to make plays. And our effort was key.”

After a pair of Wade Baldwin blanks from deep, Lorenzo Brown put in a midrange jumper and a triple to get Maccabi Tel Aviv on the board, but he turned over the ball to an active Jordan Loyd who drilled one from deep as well to keep things even at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. John Brown scored a pair of buckets Jarell Martin went from the inside and the outside but Donatas Montiejunas, Loyd and Mike James scored to give Monaco a 20-14 lead after ten minutes of play.

Elie Okobo drained a 3-pointer and followed that up with a 3-point play, Maccabi’s Brown dialled up long distance but so did Loyd to keep the visitors in front 35-21 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter. James scored a pair in the paint, Monaco’s Brown hit a midrange jumper, and Loyd added a basket to give Sasa Obradovic’s squad a 19-point lead but Oded Katash’s crew came right back with baskets from Bonzie Colson and Roman Sorkin to cut the lead to 42-31 at halftime.

Austin Hollins and Baldwin drilled 3-pointers to begin the third quarter, Alpha Diallo went from the outside and inside while James also found points as Monaco stayed ahead 51-39 midway through the period. Diallo kept causing problems for Maccabi as did Loyd while Okobo hit a super long distance 3-pointer but triples by John Dibartolomeo and Baldwin cut the lead to 59-52 after thirty minutes of action.

Dibartolomeo drained another 3-pointer, Baldwin hit a jumper, Colson and Sorkin scored in the paint to give Maccabi a 61-59 lead to start off the fourth quarter, but free throws and a James jumper over an outstretched Dibartolomeo put Monaco back in the drivers seat 63-61 with 7:08 left in regulation time.

Baldwin and Brown went from deep, Blossomgame answered, but Baldwin came right back from downtown to put the yellow-and-blue up 70-66 with 2:41 left in the final frame. James knocked one down from beyond the arc, Baldwin went in for a dunk at the other end and Colson and Adams hit their free throws to wrap up the victory.