With the bragging rights not on their hands with the result of their previous meeting, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv knew when to dominate win the game at the best time. The Yellows rode to their second half defense to crush Hapoel Jerusalem, 82-68 in the Israeli Super League Finals.
Maccabi, who now won their 8th straight championship, limited their opponents to 21 points the entire second minutes with their aggressive defense. Devin Smith made his presence felt with his timely shots during that huge third quarter surge after finding themselves down by 4 points at the half, 42-47.
The 33-year old Smith, who scored 13 points, 8 boards and 4 boards for the Yellows, joined forces Gal Mekel in completing the comeback win. The former Dallas Mavericks' guard poured 15 points, including the shot that gave the team's first taste of the lead at 57-56 towards the end of the third quarter onslaught, and added 6 boards and 4 assists which earned him the MVP trophy.
Andrew Goudelock also scored 15 points that kept this team within striking distance in the first half before the rest of the squad took over. Colton Iverson chipped in 12 points, on a 6-of-8 shooting, 10 boards and swatted 3 shots to provide post defense threat for Maccabi. Victor Rudd also added 10 points.
Amar'e Stoudemire paced the runners-up with 15 markers and 7 boards. The Phoenix Suns' 9th pick in 2002 NBA Draft out of high school, was limited to only 3 points in the second half and committed 6 errors that reflected Maccabi's defense after coming out of the dug-out. Lior Eliyahu is the only other double-digit scorer for the reds with his 13 points while adding 8 boards and 4 assists.
Tarence Kinsey, who spearheaded their own third quarter run against Hapoel Holon in the semifinals, only contributed 9 points and failed to find his range from rainbow country, missing all of his 4 attempts from beyond the arc.
With the victory, coach Ainars Bagatskis just added another title to his team's collection, raising the number to 44.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
