In fact, Maccabi reached the 81-point mark just seconds into the fourth quarter, with Roman Sorkin draining one of his team’s 15 triples on the night to make it 81-74.
“Just being home is so fun,” Sorkin told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We’ve missed [the fans] so much. It’s the second game we play this season here and I think that the fans are giving us so much energy and drive. It’s like the sixth player for us. We play so much better here. It’s not an excuse, but we really like playing at home. I feel like everybody brings his A game and there is more energy. It’s something that when you are not feeling it, you can’t really explain it.”
In a back-and-forth affair that had fans on the edge of their seats, Zalgiris didn’t hesitate to match Maccabi’s pace as the two teams traded blows in the first half, with the hosts taking a 52-49 edge at halftime.
Maccabi kicked off the second half with a 9-2 run that opened a double-digit lead, but Zalgiris fought back, with a late triple from Sylvain Francisco trimming the deficit to 78-71 heading into the closing quarter.
The Israeli side never surrendered its lead, but Francisco’s fifth triple of the game cut the difference to 99-97 with 8 seconds left on the clock. Jimmy Clark drew a foul and missed one of his two free throws, giving Zalgiris the opportunity to send the game to extra time.
Yet, Azuolas Tubelis turned over his inbounds pass and despite Marcio Santos’s error on the other end, Maodo Lo missed his midcourt triple attempt and Maccabi clinched the victory, with the fans erupting in the stands.