Jalen Hord’s playoff surge powers Maccabi Tel Aviv past Hapoel Tel Aviv in Game 1

Jalen Hord kept up his huge playoff run on Tuesday night and led Maccabi Tel Aviv to a 1-0 lead over former club Hapoel Tel Aviv in the first game of the championship series. The French forward was the game’s top scorer with 20 points, and the report highlighted how sharply his form has risen in the postseason.

Hord shot 10-for-13 from the field and added two steals, one assist and one turnover for a performance index rating of 24. He was described as pushing into another gear in the playoffs, and that momentum continued in the title series opener.

The statistical gap from the regular season is especially striking. Across six playoff games so far, Hord has scored at least 16 points in every game and is averaging 20.5 points per contest, compared with 9.8 in the regular season. His average performance index rating has jumped to 27.8 in the playoffs from 15.6 during the regular season.

The article, published by Sport 5 on June 16, 2026 at 22:49, framed Hord’s production as a major reason for Maccabi’s early advantage in the finals. The game against Hapoel Tel Aviv marked the first meeting in the series, and Hord’s scoring was central to the win.