Maccabi rallies to remain atop Group D

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv started slowly but came back from a 14-point first quarter deficit to hold off Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius 78-71 in Group D action Thursday night at Nokia Arena. Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman and Tyrese Rice all scored 14 points for Maccabi, which improved to 7-2 in the group. Smith was the only starter to score in double figures as Maccabi’s bench players outscored Tel Aviv’s starters 57-21, including David Blu’s 11 points. Playing in its first Euroleague game since the firing of Dirk Bauermann as coach, Rytas got 16 points from Zabian Dowdell, 12 from Steponas Babrauskas and 11 from Juan Palacios. Vilnius dropped to 1-8 in the group.