The yellows will look to earn their fourth away win of the season on Thursday against the Lithuanian squad, who are led by former Maccabi guard Keenan Evans (8 PM Israel time, 1 PM ET)
27/12/2023
HOME·News Archive· Maccabi ends 2023 with a road game vs Zalgiris
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv has one more challenge on their hands before calling 2023 a wrap: a tough road game against Zalgiris in Kaunas. The yellow squad will face the Lithuanians on Thursday (8 PM Israel time, 1 PM ET), as part of the EuroLeague gameday 17.
Maccabi are coming off of four games in seven days, culminating in a comfortable victory in Beer Sheva on Monday. Head coach Oded Kattash will hope for good news regarding Wade Baldwin, who is dealing with a leg injury and his status is still unclear.
Zalgiris are struggling for wins this season, despite being a playoffs team the last campaign. Coming into the game, the greens are 5-11, having lost their previous five games. Head coach Kazys Maksvytis also had to deal with some absences, with guard Lukas Lekavicius and forwards Arnas Butkevicius and Brady Manek all dealing with injuries.
Leading the charge for Zalgiris is former Maccabi point guard Keenan Evans, who recovered from a Achilles Tendon tear to produce 15.8 PPG and 3.6 APG. The Lithuanians also recently added another familiar face in defensive speciallist Austin Hollins.
Maccabi signs 2023 off with a road win over Zalgiris
The yellows, led by Josh Nebo's career night (22 points), came out of Kaunas with a 78-70 victory to go 10-7 on the season. Next Thursday, Maccabi hosts Monaco
28/12/2023
HOME·News Archive· Maccabi signs 2023 off with a road win over Zalgiris
In the face of adversity, this Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv team finds a way to prevail time and again. The yellows capped 2023 off with a 78-70 road win over Zalgiris Kaunas, pushing their record to 10-7 at the halfway point of this EuroLeague season - a season in which they played only one real home game and endured many other challenges.
It was a big night for Josh Nebo, his third game in a row with career high points. After scoring 17 against Baskonia and 18 against Crvena Zvezda last week, the big man returned to the court of his former team and delivered a 22-point masterpiece to lead the Maccabees.
Alongside him, Tamir Blarr stepped into the role of injured Wade Baldwin and posted a 14-point, 8-assist statline. Roman Sorkin also had a great second half in which he scored all of his 11 points, inluding a stretch in which he had 8 straight points. Sorkin's dominance was key in a terrific third quarter, with Maccabi leading by as many as 17 points.
Next up for Oded Kattash and his men is a EuroLeague double week. On Thursday, Maccabi hosts Monaco in Belgrade before returning to Lithuania to face Fenerbahce on neutral ground in Panev??ys.