Maccabi Tel Aviv Leads 2-0, Seeks Sweep Against Hapoel Holon in Semifinals

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon are meeting at Menora Mivtachim Arena in the Israeli playoff semifinals, with the yellow team leading the best-of-five series 2-0 and trying to close it out at home for a fourth straight finals appearance. Holon, playing with a shorter-than-usual rotation and no crowd because of Home Front Command instructions, is trying to avoid elimination today.

In the first two games, Oded Katash’s team controlled the series. In the opener, Maccabi took the lead late in the first quarter with an 0-8 run and never gave it back. Tamir Blatt posted personal playoff highs of 20 points and 12 assists. In the second game, Maccabi shot only 40.8 percent from the field, including 7 of 33 from three-point range for 21.2 percent, but still dominated at Toto Hall, leading for 39:30 minutes and going up by as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Hoard was the standout in that game, scoring 30 points, one shy of his overall scoring best in Israel, and adding 15 rebounds for a 45 efficiency rating, both career highs in the league. Maccabi has only once lost a playoff series after taking a 2-0 lead in local competition, in the 2014/15 season against Hapoel Eilat, when it was swept in the semifinals.

Holon’s last win over Maccabi Tel Aviv at Yad Eliyahu came on March 31, 2019, when it rallied from a 15-point first-quarter deficit to win 94-86. The article also listed the starting lineups for both teams in Game 3.