Hapoel Tel Aviv bounce back in style with dominant road win over Maccabi Rishon

Game recap

Hapoel Tel Aviv evened the quarterfinal series by beating Maccabi Rishon 95-69 on the road in Game 2. After a surprising 82-74 loss at home in Game 1, Dimitris Itoudis’ squad showed up determined and controlled most of the action from early on.

Maccabi Rishon struggled with turnovers early, which Hapoel exploited to take a six-point edge in the opening period. The visitors kept the pressure in the second quarter and took an 11-point lead into halftime. The third quarter was decisive — Hapoel outscored the hosts 28-15, hitting almost everything near the rim and stretching the margin to a comfortable distance. The final quarter was mostly about closing it out and managing the clock.

Standouts and what’s next

Johnathan Motley led the winners with 20 points, while Vasilije Micic added 18 points and six assists. Yam Madar made solid contributions off the bench, and Amin Stevens was the top scorer for Maccabi Rishon with 19 points. With the series tied 1-1, a decisive Game 3 will settle the matchup; the exact date and tip-off time are still to be announced.