Isaiah Taylor shines as Dubai Basketball win on the road again
Isaiah Taylor was among the stars to impress as Dubai Basketball celebrated another win on the road, defeating Serbia's Spartak 90-84 in a thrilling game – their 15th victory of the season.
In the Round 20 clash in Subotica, Dubai Basketball found themselves down early in the first quarter, but rallied back with eight consecutive points to take a 20-12 advantage into the second quarter. When play resumed, Dubai took further control of the game with Serbian shooting guard, Danilo Anđušić's, driving layup seeing them up 35-23 before former NBA star, Davis Bertans, brought the lead to 44-36 just before half-time.
The intensity rose late in the fourth quarter, as Spartak fought back and reduced their deficit to just two points with less than two-and-a-half minutes remaining — but Dubai Basketball's, Isaiah Taylor, who would later be named Man of the Match, hit another bucket in the clutch to extend Dubai's lead and close the door on Spartak's comeback bid.
It was a game to remember for Taylor who finished as the game's top scorer with 22 points while adding 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. French Center, Jerry Boutsiele, continued his impressive form since joining the team with seven rebounds.
The result saw Dubai Basketball improve their record to 15-5, currently fourth place in the standings and still in control of securing a play-off berth.
Dubai Basketball Head Coach, Jurica Golemac, had nothing but praise for his team.
He said, 'It was a well deserved victory and we controlled most of the game. We knew that Spartak would not give up, and it showed. They have a strong crowd behind them that gives them energy. We gave up a little in defense in the last quarter and they came close but we managed to play good in the last two defenses and handled the situation well to close out the win.'
The ABA League will now have a three-week break with Dubai Basketball set to be in action again at Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday, March 2 against Cibona – the start of three back-to-back home games.
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