Israeli giants made their return to the Final Four by defeating Montepaschi and booked a place in Euroleague final. Italians had the better start. They had a lead of 18 points in the first half. Maccabi had troubles stopping Terrell McIntyre as he collected 26 points in the whole game.
The second half was better for Maccabi. They started to narrow the gap. 64-61 for Montepaschi after the 3rd quarter. So it was all open in the last period. Sharp, Bluthenthal, Garcia and Morris all hit at least one three pointer in the last quarter to finish a great comeback.
Darjus Lavrinovic tied the game at 78-78 after he hit both of his free-throws but that didn't mean much as he fouled Will Bynum who hit the shot and the free-throw.
Psychological advantage was on Maccabi's side. Meanwhile Italians got nervous and couldn't make the shot. In the end it was fans wearing yellow jerseys cheering after the final whistle. Maccabi win 92-85 and returns to the final.
Montepaschi 85-92 Maccabi
Montepaschi: Terrell McIntyre 26, Romain Sato 17, Ksistof Lavrinovic 17, Bootsy Thornton 10, Shaun Stonerook 5, Vlado Ilievski 5, Drake Diener 3, Benjamin Eze 2.
Maccabi: Alex Garcia 19, Derrick Sharp 17, Will Bynum 13, Terence Morris 13, David Bluthenthal 11, Lior Eliyahu 8, Yotam Halperin 7, Nikola Vujcic 2, Esteban Batista 2.
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