Maccabi Tel Aviv moves one win from the championship after edging Hapoel in Game 2

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 102-98 on Thursday in a heated derby to take a 2-0 lead in the Israeli playoff final and move within one victory of the championship. After a dominant 96-75 win in Game 1, the yellow-and-blue backed up its opening statement with another road victory, this time at Hapoel’s home court.

Hapoel owner Ofer Yannay had called his players “soft” after the first-game blowout in an attempt to shake up the team, and coach Dimitris Itoudis again left Dan Oturu out of the squad. Igi Kolsov was dressed instead of Itay Segev, who lost his father several days ago. On Maccabi’s side, coach Oded Kattash made no changes, with Lonnie Walker still out, Tamir Blatt and Gur Lavi unavailable, and Jimmy Clark and Oshae Brissett fully fit.

The game swung back and forth through the first half. After a 20-20 opening quarter, Hapoel surged to a 48-46 halftime lead, but Maccabi seized control with a decisive 33-25 third quarter that created a double-digit advantage. Hapoel, led by a huge final quarter from Yam Madar, cut the gap and made it a tense finish, winning the fourth period 25-23, but it was not enough to recover.

Iffe Lundberg, Brissett and Roman Sorkin, who also supplied several emphatic dunks, helped close out the result for Maccabi. Game 3, which could keep Hapoel’s season alive or crown Maccabi champions, is set for Sunday, June 21, at 8:50 p.m.