Partizan roared back from a 21-point first-half deficit to stun Maccabi Electra 77-85, handing the Israeli champs their first ever loss in the quarter-final playoffs at Nokia Arena. Dušan Kecman drilled 7 of 9 three-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as the Serbian champs grabbed the home-court advantage in the best-of-five series for a spot in the Eurolague's Final Four next month in Paris.
Game 2 takes place on Thursday at the same site and Games 3 and 4 are next week at Belgrade Arena. Game 5, if necessary, will be back in Tel Aviv.
Maccabi though it would romp to victory after Andrew Wisniewski scored 10 points in a 27-12 opening quarter. The lead reached 21 in the second quarter and settled at 46-32 at halftime. Kecman scored 10 points in the third quarter alone as Partizan stated to claw its way back. Lawrence Roberts sank a pair of triples early in the fourth quarter to tie the game and then Kecman put Partizan ahead, capping a 1-12 start to the fourth quarter. Maccabi, which dominated the fourth quarters in its last two Top 16 games to reach the playoffs with home-court advantage, struggled the rest of the way, even after they briefly regained the lead and Partizan put the game away from the line.
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