Four games take place on December 26 and five on December 27
At a glance: A festive feel to Round 18
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The second half of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season starts with a bang, as Round 18 features four games between direct rivals in the race for the playoffs. Here's your guide to the final games of 2024.
Thursday, December 26
ALBA Berlin vs. Real Madrid (19:00 CET)
On the back of two big wins last week, Real (8-9) will look to continue its resurgence with a trip to last-placed ALBA (3-14). The German team has been weakened by the loss of big man Trevion Williams to Maccabi, so Real will expect league rebounding leader Walter Tavares (7.9 per game) to be even more dominant in the paint. The visitor will also look for Dzanan Musa to continue the sharpshooting form that saw him average 17 points on 13-of-19 field goal shooting in the double round week, while ALBA needs guard Matt Thomas to stay hot after netting a season-high 19 points in last week’s narrow loss at Olympiacos. The host is looking to make history after losing all 17 of its previous meetings with Real.
AS Monaco vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (19:00 CET)
In a key matchup between direct rivals, Monaco (11-6) will look to bounce back from last week's heavy loss in Madrid by overcoming a surging Efes (10-7). The Turkish team has won three in a row, with the return to fitness of Shane Larkin helping to spark an offense which was led superbly by Darius Thompson in the Round 17 victory over Partizan, dishing 11 assists without a turnover. Forward Ercan Osmani will look to maintain the best form of his career after averaging 19 points and 6 boards across last week’s two wins. His rebounding ability will test a Monaco line-up which needs more output from big men Georgios Papagiannis and Mam Jaiteh, who combined for just 4 points and 3 rebounds in last week’s loss.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:05 CET)
Two teams aiming to get back in the win column meet in Belgrade as Maccabi (4-13) hosts Zalgiris (10-7). Maccabi’s frontcourt could be strengthened by a debut for Trevion Williams, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.9 rebounds for previous club ALBA. Zalgiris will hope that key scorer Lonnie Walker can return to form after suffering a rare off night in last week’s home loss to ASVEL, which saw the American guard score 0 points after missing all 5 of his field goal shots. With five straight defeats, Maccabi is on the competition's longest losing run and has already suffered at the hands of Zalgiris’s league-best defense once this season to Zalgiris, going down 78-63 in October as Edgaras Ulanovas netted 14 points.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (20:30 CET)
Milan (9-8) will attempt to bounce back from consecutive losses by downing one of the four co-leaders, Olympiacos (11-6). Arguably the best two forwards in the competition will go into a direct battle as Nikola Mirotic (23.5 PIR, second in the league) takes on fellow former league MVP Sasha Vezenkov (22.9 PIR, fourth-best). Josh Nebo's latest injury blow is a big blow for Milan in its bid to compete in the paint against a Reds frontcourt featuring Moustapha Fall, who is coming off his best performance of the season with 18 points on 9-of-9 two-point shooting to help overcome ALBA. The host will also need the all-round game of Shavon Shields (9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game) to overcome an Olympiacos team which smashed Milan 89-68 when the teams met in October, behind 22 points from Shaq McKissic.
Friday, December 27
Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:30 CET)
Red-hot ASVEL (8-9) will look for a fourth straight win as it visits a Virtus (4-13) boosted by last week’s home win over Barcelona. The Italian team has toughened up under new coach Dusko Ivanovic, and will be led on the court by guard Isaia Cordinier after his career-best PIR of 38 made him the MVP of Round 17 following the win over Barca. ASVEL triumphed twice on the road last week, with Friday’s win at Zalgiris seeing the always-excellent Theo Maledon receive plenty of support from young star Melvin Ajinca: the 20-year-old swingman netted a career-best 17 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. Both teams will hope to have key big man back in action, with Toko Shengelia and Joffrey Lauvergne missing from their respective Round 17 triumphs.
FC Bayern Munich vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (20:30 CET)
Another big battle near the top of the standings will see Panathinaikos (10-7) attempt to become this season's first road winners at co-leader Bayern (11-6). The Greens will have to compensate for the injury absence of dominant center Mathias Lessort, with Omer Yurtseven needing to step up from his season averages of 11 minutes, 6.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Bayern bolstered its confidence with a tough road win at Milan last week, with the in-form Nick Weiler-Babb orchestrating the offense by combining 10 points with 12 assists. He is also the league’s top ball thief, averaging 1.6 steals per game, and those defensive skills will be important against Panathinaikos scoring star Kendrick Nunn – whose average of 20.2 points per game is only bettered by Bayern’s Carsen Edwards (20.7 ppg).
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Paris Basketball (20:30 CET)
Paris (11-5) coach Tiago Splitter will make an emotional return to his former club with a trip to Baskonia (7-10). The French team will hope to have a full roster available after illness forced the postponement of last week’s scheduled meeting with Fenerbahce, and is aiming to get back on track after a two-game losing run. Baskonia has also struggled recently with three losses out of four, but showed it knows how to slow down Paris’s explosive offense when it was narrowly edged out, 67-65, in November’s meeting between the teams – the only time all season that TJ Shorts has been restricted to single digits scoring. But the Spanish team also needs its own offense to function better, after netting just 69 points in last week’s crushing 35-point loss at Panathinaikos.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (20:30 CET)
Two teams hoping for a change in momentum meet as Partizan (7-10) hosts Fenerbahce (10-6). The Turkish team has lost four of the last five due to a leaky defense allowing an average of 92 points in those losses, and will be eager to get back on the court after the postponement of its Round 17 game at Paris. Partizan is also coming off a bad double round week, losing to ASVEL and Efes despite big man Tyrique Jones patrolling the paint with an average of 19.5 points on 15-of-21 two-point shooting. Sterling Brown has hit his best form of the season, averaging 16.3 points over the last four games, and Fener would love to answer him through an improvement from Marko Guduric, who has only scored three field goals in the last three games.
FC Barcelona vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20:30 CET)
Two direct rivals on the edge of the playoffs places look to strengthen their challenge as Barcelona (9-8) hosts Zvezda (9-8). Veteran forward Nikola Kalinic (9.2 points per game on 48% three-point shooting) will hope his long-range shooting can cause problems for his former team, while dynamic guard Yago dos Santos will look to stay hot after pairing 15 points and 7 assists to help overcome Maccabi last time out. Barca needs to bounce back from last week’s loss at Virtus, and will hope that big man Willy Hernangomez can deliver another strong performance after netting a season-high 14 points last time out. His battle alongside Jan Vesely with the fit-again Joel Bolomboy, who bagged 17 points and 6 rebounds in the win against Maccabi, could be decisive.