Hapoel Tel Aviv stuns Maccabi in derby, 85–80

Derby drama in Tel Aviv

Hapoel Tel Aviv pulled off a big home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, taking the derby 85-80 in round six of the Israeli Premier League. It was a tight, physical game that swung late — both teams looked a bit worn down after a heavy stretch of EuroLeague travel and games.

Maccabi led for much of the second half and even had a double-digit advantage in the third quarter, but they ran out of steam down the stretch. Elijah Bryant drilled a three with about 90 seconds left to knot the score at 80-80, and Antonio Blakeney followed with a go-ahead basket with under a minute on the clock. Jeff Dowtin had a chance to answer for Maccabi but missed a long three, and Johnathan Motley finished at the other end with eight seconds remaining to seal the win.

Hapoel were missing some regulars and gave Vasilije Micic a rest, while Bruno Caboclo, Yam Madar and Tomer Ginat were sidelined through injury. Maccabi also rested Lonnie Walker and were without Iffe Lundberg because of injury, which showed in their late-game energy.

Standings and what’s next

Johnathan Motley paced the hosts with 20 points, Antonio Blakeney added 19 and Elijah Bryant contributed 16, including the late big shots. Bar Timor chipped in 15. For Maccabi, Roman Sorkin led the way with 26 points, Tamir Blatt had 14 and Marcio Santos finished with 13.

The victory keeps Hapoel perfect in domestic play at 5-0, while Maccabi suffered their first league loss after six games. Both teams turn their attention to tough upcoming schedules: Hapoel head out to Milano later in the week, and Maccabi have an away trip coming up as well, before they return to league action where Hapoel will visit Netanya and Maccabi host Hapoel Holon next weekend.