Maccabi Tel Aviv beats Bayern Munich in EuroLeague basketball

JERUSALEM, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a dramatic 111-106 overtime win over Bayern Munich in Round 28 of the EuroLeague on Thursday night.

Nenad Dimitrijevic's 3-pointer with 9 seconds left put Bayern ahead 99-98, but Oshae Brissett drew a foul and made two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining to tie the score at 99-99 and force overtime.

Key baskets from Jalen Hoard and Brissett in the extra period helped Maccabi close out the win.

The home victory lifted Maccabi to a 13-15 record and 13th place, keeping its play-in hopes alive as it moved closer to 10th, while Bayern slipped to 12-16.

In front of 11,000 fans at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Maccabi opened a 26-20 first-quarter lead behind Roman Sorkin and extended it to 33-20 early in the second.

Bayern responded with 3-pointers from Andreas Obst and Niels Giffey to cut the deficit, but Tamir Blatt's 3s helped Maccabi take a 51-45 halftime lead.

Dimitrijevic and Obst powered Bayern to a 78-74 advantage entering the fourth quarter, and the game stayed tight down the stretch.

Sorkin led Maccabi with 21 points and 7 assists, Blatt added 20 points and 9 assists, and Will Rayman scored 16. Obst finished with a game-high 33 points, while teammate David McCormick contributed 17 points and 8 rebounds. Dimitrijevic and Giffey scored 15 points each for the visitors.

Elsewhere, EuroLeague leader Fenerbahce (19-7) will visit Panathinaikos on Friday. Second-place Olympiacos improved to 18-9 after beating Red Star Belgrade 92-86, while Valencia (18-10) consolidated third place after an 82-67 home win over Lyon-Villeurbanne. Barcelona suffered a surprise home loss to Paris 85-74, and Anadolu Efes beat Virtus Bologna 91-60 in Istanbul.

Friday's games include Zalgiris Kaunas against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Monaco against Baskonia, Partizan Belgrade hosting Real Madrid, and Olimpia Milano facing Dubai. ■