Maledon, De Colo helped ASVEL end a seven-game losing streak
ASVEL overpowers Olympiacos, 81-70

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ended its seven-game losing slide by beating Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leader Olympiacos Piraeus 81-70 on Tuesday night at LDLC Arena. The hosts’ defense held the Reds to a season-low 70 points, with guards Theo Maledon and Nando De Colo leading the charge on the other end. ASVEL improved its record to 12-19, while Olympiacos registered its second loss in a row and dropped to 22-9.
Maledon paced ASVEL with 23 points and De Colo netted 18, of which 10 came in the last 4 minutes. For Olympiacos, Evan Fournier and Sasha Vezenkov scored 25 points each, with the latter completing a double-double by picking up 10 rebounds.
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Fournier got Olympiacos going with 5 straight points, but baskets from Shaquille Harrison, Andre Roberson and Neal Sako were followed by a transition three from David Lighty, who gave ASVEL a 9-5 lead. Vezenkov responded with 7 points in a row that put the guests ahead, 11-14. Melvin Ajinca answered with a triple, but Vezenkov added 2 points to his tally for a 14-16 edge after 10 minutes.
Maledon opened the second quarter with 5 consecutive points, but Nigel Williams-Goss tied it at 19-19 from deep. ASVEL went on a 7-0 run inspired by Maledon and Lighty for a 26-19 lead. Maledon and Fournier traded triples before a dunk by Saben Lee brought Olympiacos within 31-29. Buckets from Lee and Fournier were followed by a three from Vezenkov, who gave his team a 37-39 lead at halftime.
Roberson and Kostas Papanikolaou exchanged triples before baskets from Maledon, Sako and Harrison put AVEL back in front, 46-42. Vezenkov netted 4 straight points, but Ajinca nailed an off-balance triple to restore a 51-46 lead. After Shaquielle McKissic netted a circus basket, Paris Lee and De Colo made a couple of free throws each for a 58-52 cushion heading into the closing quarter.
Olympiacos opened the fourth with a 0-7 surge, including triples by Vezenkov and Fournier, but Maledon and Roberson nailed back-to-back baskets to put ASVEL ahead, 62-60. Fournier and De Colo exchanged scores inside before a triple by the latter gave the hosts a 70-65 lead. Maledon netted a hard-fought layup and Lighty drilled a jumper to maintain a 74-68 cushion. After Williams-Goss scored inside, a three-point dagger by De Colo on the other end put the game to bed.