Jordan Farmar stars as Maccabi Tel Aviv hunt down Real Madrid 88-82 – Euroleague Recap Part 2
Maccabi Tel Aviv made the first major run at that point and it came in the form of a 9-3 burst. The Israeli charge was however immediately countered by the Spaniards, who reeled off an 8-2 spurt to close the first quarter on a
21 point deadlock.
Real Madrid then drew the first blood in the second frame and raced off to a 10-4 surge inside the first two minutes. That was the point where Sofoklis Schortsanitis stepped up to the party. The burly centre scored eight points
in an inspired 13-4 run, which put the Israelis right on top at 38-33 and effectively changed the momentum of the game.
David Blatt showered praise on Sofoklis after the game;
"Sofoklis played a great game today on both ends of the floor. He lifted us with his hustle. He jumped on the floor like a guard. It was a very high-level game that our fans will remember for a long time”.
Deep in the second quarter, Maccabi were just warming. They went into the half time break with a 46-41 lead and then launched a 10-4 foray to open up a double digit lead at 56-45. Real Madrid strived hard to retaliate, but every
move they made was countered by Maccabi, who late in the quarter, rattled off a 8-3 run to take their lead to 14 points (74-60) – the highest of the game.
Madrid closed the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Felipe Reyes and went into the final quarter staring at a huge 12 point deficit.
After the first 100 seconds of the final stanza went scoreless, Reyes opened the scoring with a two pointer and gave his side a sniff. The Israelis though were just relentless on the offense. They kept on coming at the Spanish
defense and were leading by 85-75 with a little above than two minutes left on the clock.
Reyes made a three point play to reduce the deficit. It was followed by a pair of free throws form Jaycee Carroll and all of a sudden, Real, who had won their last two games courtesy of fourth quarter comebacks, were within striking
range. However, whatever hopes the Spaniards had of a comeback were put to bed by Jordan Farmar, who calmly slipped in a two free throws.
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