Rokas Jokubaitis Holds Roman Sorkin Scoreless in Worst Playoff Game of His Career

Maccabi Tel Aviv center Roman Sorkin had a nightmare in Game 3 of the championship series on Sunday, finishing without a single point for the first time in a playoff game in his career. He went 0-for-5 from the field and added three rebounds in the loss to Vasilije Micic and company.

Sorkin, who is usually a major difference-maker in the Israeli league, had scored 21 points in Game 2, making this collapse even more striking. The last time he finished a league game scoreless was in March 2022, when he failed to score in nine minutes against Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

This was not an unusually big rebounding night for him, but it was modest even by his standards. In February he had already had games with just one point in 12 minutes and two points in 18 minutes, though he did manage to get on the scoreboard. Against Hapoel Holon in Game 2 of this series, for example, he grabbed only two rebounds in 30 minutes. Against this opponent he took only two two-point attempts in 24 minutes.

Before Sunday, Sorkin had scored in every playoff game he had played in his career. The 29-year-old averaged 12 points in 20.7 minutes per game in the Israeli league this season, and 13.5 points on 51.6% shooting in 22.9 minutes per game in the EuroLeague.