Brae Ivey and Kur Kuath post career-highs to lead the visitors
Hamburg holds off Aris, 88-90, after overtime thriller
Veolia Towers Hamburg captured its first road win since 2023 with an 88-90 overtime victory over Aris Midea Thessaloniki on Wednesday night. Hamburg, which enjoyed career-games from Brae Ivey and Kur Kuath, improved to 5-12 in Group B. The result also sentenced Aris, which was playing its first game with new head coach Nikos Vetoulas on the bench, to finish in last place after it fell to 3-14.
Ivey shined with 25 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting – both career-highs – plus 5 assists and 5 steals. Kuath had personal bests of 19 points and 13 rebounds in addition to 2 blocks. Jaizec Lottie, who scored 5 of Hamburg's 6 points in overtime, finished with 13 and Johnathan Stove contributed 10 points before fouling out.
Sharife Cooper was Aris's leading scorer with 19 points and 6 assists, but he also committed 7 turnovers. Darral Willis added 12 points and 9 rebounds, Georgios Gkiouzelis also scored 12 and D'Moi Hodge added 11.
Game Videos
Kuath left his mark on the game early with three buckets in the first 4 minutes to help the visitors to a 6-11 start. Aris tied it soon after through Cooper and Kuath was forced out of the game after drawing a foul when his contact lens popped out. Willis continued his strong start for the hosts to give Aris a 13-12 edge. Teenager Fabian Giessmann, who came off the bench for Kuath, briefly helped Hamburg regain the lead, but free throws by Georgios Fillios left Aris with a 22-19 advantage after 10 minutes.
Fillios added a three-pointer and an assist as Aris protected a slim lead early in the second quarter. Hodge added a triple for a 32-24 cushion. A pair of threes by Ivey erased most of the Hamburg deficit, Stove tied the score from the line and Ivey connected again from deep to put the visitors ahead 37-40. With the Aris faithful singing in the stands, a 6-0 spurt pushed the hosts ahead only to see Rich Osaro’s three-pointer give Hamburg a 43-45 edge at halftime.
Ivey extended the lead with a three early in the second half and Kuath threw down a highlight-reel slam. Aris fought right back and tied it at 52-52 on L.J. Figueroa's put-back slam. Josh Roberts continued a strong run of play with a free throw to put Aris on top. Fillios kept Aris rolling with another triple, but Ivey answered with his fifth three of the night. The Hamburg guard finished the third quarter with a deep three that drew his team within 63-62.
Kuath sandwiched a pair of scored inside around a three by Gkiouzelis. A jumper by Jordan Barnett and a three by Stove had Hamburg back ahead, 66-71. After a timeout, Hodge drained a three, Willis tied it with a put-back and Cooper made it 73-71 with less than 4 minutes remaining. Figueroa rejected Lottie at the rim and Cooper added to the lead, but the momentum quickly shifted as Ivey and Stove teamed to put the visitors up 75-76. Setting up an exciting finish, Kuath put Hamburg ahead 78-80 with free throws with just over a minute to go. Cooper drained a three at the other end. Barnett gave Hamburg an 81-82 edge with 2 free throws with 16.2 seconds remaining. Cooper zipped through the visitors' defense for a layup with 7.8 seconds left and, but Kuath tipped in his own miss on the buzzer to force overtime at 84-84.
Cooper split free throws for the first points of the extra session before Lottie's layup gave Hamburg a slim advantage. Vassilis Toliopoulos countered with a jumper and Lottie tied it from the line, 87-87. The pace picked up with Roberts shining with a pair of blocks. Lottie gave Hamburg a 1-point lead entering the final minute. However, Aris committed 3 turnovers and missed 3 shots in the last minute of overtime, costing itself a chance to tie or win it.