The new star of Maccabi Tel Aviv dominates Anadolu Efes
Historic debut of Saben Lee in Euroleague.
The recent signing of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Saben Lee, was the standout player in their narrow victory over Anadolu Efes by 93-91. The former NBA player from Turkish Manisa, in his debut game with the club, had a memorable night, scoring 23 points and dishing out 5 assists, including his first points with one of the best dunks of the season so far and the assist for Jaylen Hoard's game-winning shot in the final seconds of the match.
Anadolu Efes started strong, leading 18-9 with Poirier dominating, but Maccabi closed the gap at the end of the first quarter (24-23) and briefly took the lead (27-26) with a spectacular dunk by Saben Lee at the start of the second quarter. From there, the game turned into an intense battle, with both teams tied at 52 points at halftime and Efes holding a slight advantage of 74-72 at the start of the final quarter.
In a closely contested finish, Maccabi built a crucial four-point lead (88-84) with two minutes remaining, thanks to Lee's scoring prowess. Efes leveled the score at 88 with baskets from Larkin and Beaubois, but Tamir Blatt responded with a key three-pointer for 91-88 with 69 seconds left. Jordan Nwora tied the game once again at 91 with only 21 seconds on the clock. In the decisive play, Lee assisted Hoard, who sealed the win with 93-91. Larkin had the final chance but missed the last-second shot.
Maccabi improved their record to 2-1 in the EuroLeague, not only due to Saben Lee's stellar debut but also with crucial contributions from Hoard, who scored 18 points, and Tamir Blatt, adding 14 points, including one of the most important threes of the game.
On Anadolu Efes' side, Vincent Poirier shined with 22 points, while NBA newcomer Jordan Nwora had his best performance of the season with 21 points. However, these efforts were not enough to avoid defeat. Shane Larkin, returning from injury, contributed 8 points and 8 assists, but had a tough night from three-point range, missing all six attempts, including the potential game-winning shot in the last second.
Despite the loss, Efes coach Tomislav Mijatovic backed his player: "Our game was not at the level we wanted. Dan Oturu injured his wrist during the game, and Shane Larkin was not in top form after his return from injury and suffered a setback during the match. All of this affected us."
With this win, Maccabi continues to show their strength in the competition, while Efes will need to regroup after a loss in a game that could have gone either way.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La nueva estrella del Maccabi Tel Aviv domina al Anadolu Efes
