A taste of nostalgia: Hapoel defeats Kiryat Ata in Malha.
Hapoel defeated Ironi Kiryat Ata 89-66 in the historic arena, improving their record to 1-2 in the Winner League. Justin Smith scored 22 points (photo: Oded Karmi).
20/10/2024
| 21:40
| Post-Game
Hapoel hosted a home game in the Winner League at Malha for the first time in a decade, defeating Ironi Kiryat Ata 89-66 in the third round. Hapoel managed to finish the first half with a double-digit lead that was maintained until the end, despite attempts at a comeback by the visitors in the final quarter. The Israelis, led by Gabi Chachashvili (12 points) and Noam Dovrat (seven assists), delivered a great performance and contributed significantly on both ends of the court.
Game Summary
Hapoel Starting Five: Speedy Smith, Or Cornelius, Yovel Zoosman, Gabi Chachashvili, Austin Wiley.
Ironi Kiryat Ata Starting Five: Raz Adam, Shavon Lewis, J.J. Kaplan, Akia Pruitt, Silvio De Sousa.
Chachashvili hit his first three-pointer of the season from the corner, but was immediately answered by a similar shot from Kaplan. Wiley scored his first points in the paint against De Sousa, while Adam added a point from the free-throw line. Smith then took advantage of a screen to score his first two points. The Jerusalem duo continued to collaborate, with the guard setting Wiley up for an easy basket. On the other end, the Angolan center drew a foul and scored twice from the line. Adam received an assist from Kaplan for easy points in transition, but Cornelius responded with a jumper from mid-range. Lewis then blocked a shot from Justin Smith and followed up with a nice drive. Smith then hit a shot from the free-throw line, and Lewis took control to tie the game at 13-13. Jared Harper provided two early assists, one for a three-pointer from Zoosman and another for a basket and foul by Smith, before adding two more from the free-throw line. Yuval Levin stopped the red run with a basket in the paint, but Harper scored another basket with a foul to finish the quarter at 15-24 for the hosts.
Justin Smith continued to dominate with points from offensive rebounds and an impressive dunk following a play with Noam Dovrat, while Adam hit his first three-pointer on the other end. Lewis cleaned up a missed shot from De Sousa, but Speedy Smith then hit a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer, establishing a 31-20 lead. Chris Smith scored his first points with the team, while Justin Smith missed a few good opportunities before Harper sprinted the length of the court. Yuval Schneider, in his first game of the season, found Lewis moving without the ball, and then Chris Smith had a highlight dunk. Zoosman calmed the hosts with a successful drive to the basket, and Dovrat assisted Justin Smith for an alley-oop that energized the red crowd. Dovrat capped off a great stretch with a three-pointer that concluded the half at 27-40 for Hapoel.
Game Summary
Hapoel Starting Five: Speedy Smith, Or Cornelius, Yovel Zoosman, Gabi Chachashvili, Austin Wiley.
Ironi Kiryat Ata Starting Five: Raz Adam, Shavon Lewis, J.J. Kaplan, Akia Pruitt, Silvio De Sousa.
Chachashvili hit his first three-pointer of the season from the corner, but was immediately answered by a similar shot from Kaplan. Wiley scored his first points in the paint against De Sousa, while Adam added a point from the free-throw line. Smith then took advantage of a screen to score his first two points. The Jerusalem duo continued to collaborate, with the guard setting Wiley up for an easy basket. On the other end, the Angolan center drew a foul and scored twice from the line. Adam received an assist from Kaplan for easy points in transition, but Cornelius responded with a jumper from mid-range. Lewis then blocked a shot from Justin Smith and followed up with a nice drive. Smith then hit a shot from the free-throw line, and Lewis took control to tie the game at 13-13. Jared Harper provided two early assists, one for a three-pointer from Zoosman and another for a basket and foul by Smith, before adding two more from the free-throw line. Yuval Levin stopped the red run with a basket in the paint, but Harper scored another basket with a foul to finish the quarter at 15-24 for the hosts.
Justin Smith continued to dominate with points from offensive rebounds and an impressive dunk following a play with Noam Dovrat, while Adam hit his first three-pointer on the other end. Lewis cleaned up a missed shot from De Sousa, but Speedy Smith then hit a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer, establishing a 31-20 lead. Chris Smith scored his first points with the team, while Justin Smith missed a few good opportunities before Harper sprinted the length of the court. Yuval Schneider, in his first game of the season, found Lewis moving without the ball, and then Chris Smith had a highlight dunk. Zoosman calmed the hosts with a successful drive to the basket, and Dovrat assisted Justin Smith for an alley-oop that energized the red crowd. Dovrat capped off a great stretch with a three-pointer that concluded the half at 27-40 for Hapoel.
Speedy Smith
In the third quarter, like in the first, Tsachashvili was the first to score with a mid-range jumper, while Adam hit his second three-pointer on the other end. Wiley also scored from mid-range after an assist from Dovrat, establishing a 44-30 lead that held until midway through the quarter. Tsachashvili broke the joint drought with a circus shot using his left hand, while Schneider scored his first points of the season with a three-pointer. The Hapoel forward continued his good minutes with an assist for Zoosman's three-pointer, who then returned the favor with an assist for Cornelius's score. Dovrat, also having a great game, again found Justin Smith for a basket and foul that put the score at 35-53. The visitors struggled to score, including from the free-throw line, while Justin Smith powered through two defenders for a tough basket in the paint. Schneider and Harper scored from the line before De Sousa finally got his first field goal of the game. Harper set up Justin Smith for a fantastic alley-oop, while De Sousa responded with two more points. Kaplan hit a three-pointer, but Cornelius capitalized on a turnover in the final seconds of the quarter with a buzzer-beater three, ending the quarter at 43-63 for Hapoel.
Schneiderman finished a nice drive with two points in the paint, while Speedy Smith opened the final quarter with a three-pointer. Gal Beitner scored his first points from mid-range and added an assist for Pruitt who also scored from that range, but on the other end, Justin Smith continued to receive assists for easy baskets from his teammates, this time from Cornelius. Tsachashvili easily laid in two points, while Pruitt ran the length of the court for his own two points, then added another nice basket with a spin move, and Kaplan cut the deficit to 14 points with a three-pointer from the corner. Cornelius rolled in an important basket, but Lewis responded with a drive after an athletic block by Chris Smith. Harper hit a three-pointer from Dovrat’s assist, added two more from the free-throw line, and then hit a mid-range shot to restore Hapoel's largest lead of the game—21 points. From there, the team struggled to catch up, with both teams exchanging three-pointers, Lewis and Adam on one side, Tsachashvili on the other. Young Nir Perry scored his first points with the senior team of Hapoel Jerusalem with a three-pointer that also concluded the game’s score—66-89 for Hapoel.
Schneiderman finished a nice drive with two points in the paint, while Speedy Smith opened the final quarter with a three-pointer. Gal Beitner scored his first points from mid-range and added an assist for Pruitt who also scored from that range, but on the other end, Justin Smith continued to receive assists for easy baskets from his teammates, this time from Cornelius. Tsachashvili easily laid in two points, while Pruitt ran the length of the court for his own two points, then added another nice basket with a spin move, and Kaplan cut the deficit to 14 points with a three-pointer from the corner. Cornelius rolled in an important basket, but Lewis responded with a drive after an athletic block by Chris Smith. Harper hit a three-pointer from Dovrat’s assist, added two more from the free-throw line, and then hit a mid-range shot to restore Hapoel's largest lead of the game—21 points. From there, the team struggled to catch up, with both teams exchanging three-pointers, Lewis and Adam on one side, Tsachashvili on the other. Young Nir Perry scored his first points with the senior team of Hapoel Jerusalem with a three-pointer that also concluded the game’s score—66-89 for Hapoel.
