AEK defend home court to force Game 3 against Jerusalem
AEK put up their biggest margin of victory (16) this season in the Basketball Champions League with a 94-78 Game 2 home win over Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem to even up the Quarter-Finals series at 1-1.
ATHENS (Greece) - AEK put up their biggest margin of victory (16 points) in the Basketball Champions League this season with a 94-78 Game 2 home win over Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem to even up the Quarter-Finals series at 1-1.
This was Jerusalem's first loss on the road in the BCL this season, as their six-game road winning streak came to an end. They were one win away from their longest streak in the competition.
Turning point: The game had little separation in the first quarter and through the first half of the second quarter until AEK went on an 11-0 run that started in the final minutes of the first frame and ended a couple minutes into the second. The run put them on top and the hosts pushed ahead to a 47-37 lead at halftime.
AEK maintained that lead for the entire second half as Jerusalem only got as close as eight points in the second half.
Game heroes: Akil Mitchell continued his MVP candidate level of play for AEK, recording a well-rounded stat line of 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. He became the sixth player to record 10+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a BCL game and the first to do so since January 2021.
After going scoreless in Game 1 and missing all six of his shot attempts, Brynton Lemar rebounded in a big way with a team-high 24 points (also his season-high), making 8-of-12 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
The 28-year-old guard scored 14 of his points in the first half.
🥶 @brynton_lemar last week: scoreless.
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) April 12, 2023
🔥 @brynton_lemar today: 𝟏𝟐 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 already, doing everything he can to keep @aekbcgr alive in the series!#BasketballCL pic.twitter.com/PqEHfcAHZf
Stats don't lie: Jerusalem's season-long struggles from the free-throw line hurt them today, as they only converted 17-of-29. AEK also knocked down 46.4 percent of their three-point attempts and outscored Jerusalem by 12 points from behind the arc.
Bottom line: The series is now tied 1-1 and will head back to Jerusalem for a Game 3 on Wednesday April 19 that will decide who advances to the Final 4.
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Zach Hankins only scored 3 points tonight, so Levi Randolph was a bright spot for Jerusalem in defeat, going for a game-high 28 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 10-of-13 from the field.
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