Over the past two weeks, Doron Perkins has proven that not even a little rust from an injury can prevent him from taking over a game for the Maccabi Haifa Heat.
The point guard finished with seven points and eight assists in his first game back during Haifa's rout over Ironi Kiryat Ata last week and in the very next game, against Givat Shmuel on Sunday, he tacked on 20 points with six assists.
Maccabi coach Avi Ashkenazi has seen a major addition to Perkins's‚ play that has played a large part in the team's two-game winning streak. Haifa's scoring leader has become one of the league's top defensive forces since returning to the Heat.
During the game against Givat Shmuel, Perkins gathered four steals - as many as his previous three games combined - before getting a season high of seven in Sunday's win.
Perkins's ability to play on both ends of the floor allowed Haifa to hold Givat Shmuel to 69 points. The last time Maccabi (12-7) held a team below 70 points was February 7 in its 75-68 win over Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
The improved defense could not have come at a better time. Its next two opponents will be against teams in the top half of the BSL in scoring (Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ironi Ashkelon).
Perkins's defense has put Haifa back in third place, but he will need to continue his efforts to help Maccabi clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Better late than never
Until this week, Ironi Ashkelon's chances of making the postseason looked improbable. But, with its additions of C.J. Bruton and Tyrone Grant, it has found itself one game behind playoff contention and is currently on a two-game winning streak.
Although both players are coming off the bench, they both understand what it takes to win.
Bruton has long been considered one of the best players in the Australian Basketball League with three championships while Grant has competed with some of Italy's top teams.
Neither have impressive stats on paper, but their experience and intangibles helped change Ashkelon's fate. Bruton's understanding of the game has allowed him to create scoring opportunities for his teammates while Grant has given the team more strength inside.
Their presence has allowed Rahshon Turner to get more open looks at the basket, with the newcomers‚ ability to draw the defense away.
In the last two games, Turner has shot 72 percent. The last time Ashkelon‚s leading scorer has shot over 70% in a two-game stretch was in week six. That time, his hot hand couldn't avoid his team from continuing its slump as it stumbled to a 2-4 record.
Ironi (7-12) will finish the season with three straight home games against teams with winning records and cannot yet relax despite playing in the friendly confines of its home crowd.
March madness
After losing its fifth straight game to Maccabi Haifa, Givat Shmuel is one team that would like to forget about this past month.
Givat (7-12) has been competitive in many of its losses with a point margin below 15 in every game except for Bnei Hasharon, which won by 21 points.
Its main problem is the first quarter. The only time Shmuel coach Oren Aharoni has seen his team put up at least 20 points in the opening period was in its one-point loss to Ironi Ramat Gan.
Every other time can be attributed to a slow start that the team struggles to overcome. It has averaged 16.8 points in the first quarter throughout its drought.
At the end of February, Givat Shmuel sat at 7-7. It is currently in the league's bottom four, but only one game behind Ramat Gan and Ironi Nahariya.
Its schedule certainly isn‚t doing the team any favors.Givat will be playing top-five teams through the end of the season. That makes getting off to a quick start even more important since all three of its opponents are capable of taking Aharoni's team right out of the game if the deficit gets too large.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Local Hoops: Jerusalem comes back to defeat Galil/Gilboa 81-74 at Malha
Hapoel Jerusalem maintained its perfect home league record on Sunday, overcoming a stern test from Hapoel Galil/Gilboa.
Galil led by six points with less than three minutes to play, but Hapoel ended the encounter with a 13-0 run to win 81-74 and improve to 9-0 at Malha in the BSL this season.
Timmy Bowers made the difference in the closing stages, scoring nine of his side's final 13 points, ending the game with 23 points.
"Down the stretch we just wanted to show our heart and character," Bowers said. "It was tough. Galil played great today and made a lot of shots. This was a very important win."
Roger Powell added 16 points and seven rebounds for Jerusalem, which with just four more games remaining to play in the regular season is now very close to clinching second position in the standings.
Isaiah Swann led five Galil players in double-figures, scoring 14 points.
"Jerusalem made some big plays in the crucial minutes and Bowers hit shots only he is capable of in Israel," said Galil coach Oded Katash, who was infuriated with the referees at the end of the game after seeing a call go against his team in the final minute.
It was a difficult evening for the hosts, who scored the first points of the night, but then struggled on offense for the remainder of the first half, allowing the visitors to dictate the play.
Galil led 16-15 after the first period and an 11-1 run in the second quarter, capped by a Swann three-pointer, opened a 37-29 margin.
The hosts closed to within four points by the break (37-33) and opened a 47-43 advantage after a good start to the second half.
Two straight Dagan Yavzuri threes gave Galil a 57-55 advantage with 10 minutes to play, and Katash's team seemed to be well placed with less than three minutes to go, leading 74-68.
However, the final minutes belonged to the hosts and especially Bowers, who almost single handedly turned the game on its head.
Meanwhile, in Nahariya, a Luis Flores basket with 2.5 seconds remaining gave Hapoel Holon its fourth straight victory, 76-74 over Ironi Nahariya.
Flores scored 25 points for Holon, with Ron Lewis scoring 23 points for the losers.
Also Sunday, Maccabi Haifa snapped its three game losing streak, defeating Ironi Kiryat Ata 92-75 in Romema.
After losing its last two games by a combined 41 points, Haifa was desperate to return to winning ways, but didn't have it all its own way against Kiryat Ata.
The BSL's rock-bottom team remained in touch with Haifa for the first 26 minutes of the game, only for the hosts to go on a 15-4 run in the final four minutes of the third period to clinch the win.
Davon Jefferson was superb for Haifa, scoring 31 points and taking 15 rebounds. Doron Perkins scored seven points and passed eight assists on his return from injury, with Moshe Mizrahi and Ido Kozikaro each adding 16 points.
Haminn Quaintance scored 17 points for Kiryat Ata, which is running out of time in its battle against relegation.
Bnei Hasharon suffered a surprise 81-76 defeat at Ironi Ashkelon on Sunday, despite an excellent debut from new signing Ira Newble.
Newble led his team with 17 points, but Rashon Turner scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to help his team to a crucial victory.
Also Sunday, Ironi Ramat Gan claimed its fifth win in six games, beating Maccabi Givat Shmuel 90-89 after overtime behind Anthony Myles' 26 points.
On Monday, Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
Galil led by six points with less than three minutes to play, but Hapoel ended the encounter with a 13-0 run to win 81-74 and improve to 9-0 at Malha in the BSL this season.
Timmy Bowers made the difference in the closing stages, scoring nine of his side's final 13 points, ending the game with 23 points.
"Down the stretch we just wanted to show our heart and character," Bowers said. "It was tough. Galil played great today and made a lot of shots. This was a very important win."
Roger Powell added 16 points and seven rebounds for Jerusalem, which with just four more games remaining to play in the regular season is now very close to clinching second position in the standings.
Isaiah Swann led five Galil players in double-figures, scoring 14 points.
"Jerusalem made some big plays in the crucial minutes and Bowers hit shots only he is capable of in Israel," said Galil coach Oded Katash, who was infuriated with the referees at the end of the game after seeing a call go against his team in the final minute.
It was a difficult evening for the hosts, who scored the first points of the night, but then struggled on offense for the remainder of the first half, allowing the visitors to dictate the play.
Galil led 16-15 after the first period and an 11-1 run in the second quarter, capped by a Swann three-pointer, opened a 37-29 margin.
The hosts closed to within four points by the break (37-33) and opened a 47-43 advantage after a good start to the second half.
Two straight Dagan Yavzuri threes gave Galil a 57-55 advantage with 10 minutes to play, and Katash's team seemed to be well placed with less than three minutes to go, leading 74-68.
However, the final minutes belonged to the hosts and especially Bowers, who almost single handedly turned the game on its head.
Meanwhile, in Nahariya, a Luis Flores basket with 2.5 seconds remaining gave Hapoel Holon its fourth straight victory, 76-74 over Ironi Nahariya.
Flores scored 25 points for Holon, with Ron Lewis scoring 23 points for the losers.
Also Sunday, Maccabi Haifa snapped its three game losing streak, defeating Ironi Kiryat Ata 92-75 in Romema.
After losing its last two games by a combined 41 points, Haifa was desperate to return to winning ways, but didn't have it all its own way against Kiryat Ata.
The BSL's rock-bottom team remained in touch with Haifa for the first 26 minutes of the game, only for the hosts to go on a 15-4 run in the final four minutes of the third period to clinch the win.
Davon Jefferson was superb for Haifa, scoring 31 points and taking 15 rebounds. Doron Perkins scored seven points and passed eight assists on his return from injury, with Moshe Mizrahi and Ido Kozikaro each adding 16 points.
Haminn Quaintance scored 17 points for Kiryat Ata, which is running out of time in its battle against relegation.
Bnei Hasharon suffered a surprise 81-76 defeat at Ironi Ashkelon on Sunday, despite an excellent debut from new signing Ira Newble.
Newble led his team with 17 points, but Rashon Turner scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to help his team to a crucial victory.
Also Sunday, Ironi Ramat Gan claimed its fifth win in six games, beating Maccabi Givat Shmuel 90-89 after overtime behind Anthony Myles' 26 points.
On Monday, Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
Doron Perkins off the backboard alley oop pass for the dunk of Jefferson (March, 29th 2009)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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