JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a 96-81 home victory over Serbia's KK Partizan Belgrade in the opening round of Euroleague basketball on Thursday.

Lorenzo Brown spearheaded Maccabi's dominance in the first quarter, which concluded at 27-16, in front of 11,000 fans at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv.

Josh Nebo, Bonzie Colson, and the indefatigable Brown propelled Maccabi to extend the lead to 45-28 in the 16th minute. Subsequently, Partizan's Aleksa Avramovic and Kevin Punter narrowed the gap to 40-49 before the score settled at 55-43 at halftime.

A stellar third-quarter performance by Antonius Cleveland and Jasiel Rivero, both new additions to Maccabi this summer, helped widen the lead to 74-58.

Key points by Colson and Tamir Blatt at the onset of the final quarter sealed the win for Maccabi.

Brown led Maccabi scorers with 22 points, along with eight assists. Nebo and Roman Sorkin contributed 14 points each.

Avramovic topped Partizan scorers with a game-high 24 points.

In Round 2 on October 12, Maccabi will play away against Italian champions Armani Milano, while Partizan takes on Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne in France. Enditem

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