Group G report: Maccabi-Zalgiris, 107-99 OT

In what will go down as another miraculous finish to the Top 16, 
Maccabi made it to the Final Four in Tel Aviv with an 
unbelievable 107-99 overtime victory at home against Zalgiris on 
Thursday. The mood of two nations turned on a Derrick Sharp 
three-pointer that beat the buzzer in regulation time and allowed 
Maccabi to tie 94-94 and reach the extra five-minute period. 
There, Maccabi took a quick lead and wouldn't let it go until the 
10,000-strong sea of yellow in the stands at Nokia Arena could 
start making their Final Four plans a reality. It was a night of 
legendary performances, with Sarunas Jasikevicius leading Maccabi 
with 37 points in just 29 minutes. Nikola Vujcic added 18 for the 
winners, David Bluthenthal 17 and Anthony Parker 12. The man who 
meant more to his team than perhaps any other in the competition, 
Arvydas Sabonis, finished with 29 points and 9 rebounds for 
Zalgiris. Ed Cota and Ainars Bagatskis added 20 each and Tanoka 
Beard 11. 

Zalgiris controlled the tip and struck first when Sabonis nailed 
an open three-pointer. The game got off to a physical start, with 
each team committing 4 fouls in the first 4 minutes. Jasikevicius 
got hot early, scoring 8 of Maccabi's first 9 points without a 
miss in action. Oddly enough, his only miss came at the free 
throw line, ending his streak of 22 straight foul shots made in 
the Top 16. Zalgiris used the outside shot as its prime weapon 
until Sabonis scored inside on a hook shot to put the visitors 
ahead 10-14. But Jasikevicius was a man on a mission. He 
sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a Vujcic baby hook, 
then added 2 points from the line for a 10-0 run that turned the 
game around for Maccabi. Even though Sabonis stopped the run with 
a tip-in, he couldn't help his team's poor shooting. Zalgiris 
missed 6 of 7 shots in a stretch by the time Bluthenthal's 
three-pointer put Maccabi up 24-16. Bagatkis finally scored from 
downtown for Zalgiris, but Jasikevicius hit a jumper at the 
buzzer to keep Tel Aviv ahead 30-22 after 10 minutes. "Saras" 
already had 18 points for Maccabi. 

Bluthenthal scored to put the Maccabi up 10 points to start the 
second period, but that's when Cota went to work, drawing fouls 
from Sharp and Jasikevicius and hitting all 4 of his chances at 
the line to trim the deficit. Suddenly, Maccabi went cold and 
Bagatskis & Co. found their touch to make it 33-28. Just when 
Maccabi showed signs of a recovery, Jasikevicius was called for 
his third foul and was forced to take a seat on the bench. 
Without its point guard, the Maccabi attack looked lost. Dainius 
Salenga threw down a fastbreak dunk to make it 39-36. Anthony 
Parker took over the ball-handling duties for Tel Aviv, and was 
able to keep Maccabi in front with a pair of jumpers. Sabonis, 
who scored the last 5 points for Zalgiris, capped the half with a 
hook to keep the visitors within 46-43. 

Both teams went inside to start the second half. Zalgiris lined 
up Sabonis together with Beard, while Maccabi used Deon Thomas 
instead of Maceo Baston alongside Vujcic. Beard went to work 
first, hauling in an offensive board and drawing a foul from 
Thomas, and then Cota found Sabonis wide open underneath for an 
easy dunk to tie at 46-46. After Jasikevicius missed Maccabi's 
sixth straight shot to start the quarter, Cota beat the 24-second 
clock with a three-pointer to put Zalgiris up 48-49. Jasikevicius 
broke Maccabi's drought with a jump shot, but picked up his 
fourth foul on the next trip downcourt. Seconds after Parker fed 
Vujcic underneath to knot the score at 52-52 and get the crowd 
back involved, Sabonis drilled 2 three-pointers and blocked 
Baston, who had replaced Thomas. Zalgiris had reclaimed the 
momentum. Cota made a pair of foul shots to put Kaunas ahead 
54-61. Bluthenthal scored inside for Maccabi, but Sabonis again 
answered. The Lithuanian legend grabbed Cota's miss over Vujcic, 
spun around and found Bagatskis for an open three that made it 
64-56. Jasikevicius ended the period with a pair of free throws 
and Maccabi staring at a 54-68 lead for Zalgiris. 

Maccabi came out running in the fourth. First, Jasikevicius 
scored from the line, then Parker stripped Cota and finished with 
a one-handed jam, and finally Bluthenthal tipped in a Parker miss 
to tie 64-64 as Nokia Arena erupted. The shell-shocked 
Lithuanians turned to Sabonis, who hit his fourth triple of the 
evening, but Maccabi's Lithuanian, Jasikevicius, nailed one as 
well on the next play. Sabonis clogged the middle on defense, and 
followed up another miss for a tip-in that put his club back up 
67-71. Sabonis was whistled for two quick fouls, and 
Jasikevicius's rebound basket closed the gap to 73-74. Bagatskis 
made a three from the corner, and after Salenga matched Parker's 
pair from the line, Bagatskis hit another jumper to make it 75-81 
and force a Maccabi timeout. Vujcic converted a three-point play 
after the stop, but Bluthenthal was forced to stop Sabonis with a 
foul on the other side. 'Sabas' made both. Parker drew Mindaugas 
Timinskas's fifth foul at the two-minute mark, but missed the 
first of 2 free throws. Cota travelled while penetrating, and 
Bluthenthal got Maccabi back within one with a three-pointer, but 
this time Bagatskis answered from downtown. Jasikevicius put in 3 
free throws with 50 seconds left to close the gap to 85-86, but 
when Sharp fouled him, Cota kept his side ahead by three. 
Jasikevicius missed a three for the tie and Parker was called for 
a foul on the rebound. Bagatskis hit 2 more from the line to set 
up the Zalgiris win. Cota kept hitting from the line, Saras and 
Vujcic kept Maccabi within three, and when Jasikevicius committed 
his fifth foul on Giedrius Gustas with seconds to go, it seemed 
over. But Gustas missed both, and Sharp hit a desperation three 
at the buzzer to tie it 94-94. 

A stunned Zalgiris missed its first shots and Vujcic scored twice 
inside to put Maccabi up 98-94 in overtime. Sharp fouled out and 
was replaced by Yotam Halperin, as Arturas Javtokas made just 1 
of 2 from the line. Baston took a Vujcic feed for a dunk, but 
then Bluthenthal fouled out for Maccabi. Beard made both of his 
free throws to cut the hosts' advantage to 100-97. After Vujcic 
missed a three, Zalgiris coughed up the ball up, Halperin went to 
the line and sank 1 foul shot with 1:31 to go. But Zalgiris 
couldn't match the points, and missed the next five shots as 
Baston, Tal Burstein, and Halperin sealed a sensational 107-99 
win.  
  
Eran Sela, Tel Aviv