Both teams have a 2-1 record after three rounds
Barcelona breezes past Monaco, 86-71
FC Barcelona protected its home floor on Wednesday night, defeating the previously unbeaten AS Monaco 86-71 in the last game of Round 3. Barcelona controlled the game for the majority of all four quarters, registering its second win of the season as both teams now hold a 2-1 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
When all was said and done, it turned out that Barcelona never trailed after a 9-0 first-quarter run, with the hosts taking the lead for good in the second quarter. Monaco came within 47-44 early in the third, but an 8-0 run gave Barcelona a double-digit lead that grew to 20 points at the start of the fourth, with Monaco never threatening again.
Kevin Punter netted 21 points to lead Barcelona, and Jabari Parker added 16. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 13, and Jan Vesely 10 points in a victory. Elie Okobo was Monaco's top core with 13 points, Alpha Diallo had 12, Mike James 11 while Mam Jaiteh finished with 10 in a losing effort.
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Monaco was the team which struck first, opening a 2-7 lead after a James three-pointer, but Barcelona answered with a 10-0 run during which Punter hit a pair of threes, including one in transition from way downtown, to make it 12-7. Monaco replied with a little run of its own, capped by Okobo's three to tie things at 14-14, but Parker hit a corner triple before Willy Hernangomez had a dunk that sparked a 9-0 run, capped by a triple from Laprovittola. That shot opened a double-digit margin, 26-16, before a Georgios Papagiannis' tip-in made it 26-18 after 10 minutes.
Monaco had a strong start to the second quarter, with Matthew Strazel driving for a shot high off the glass and Diallo following it up with a three-point play, then Donatas Motiejunas twice went crafty in the low post, tying the game at 27-27. Laprovittola had a three-point play, and after Diallo answered with a three-pointer, a triple from Dario Brizuela, a long jumper from Vesely and a three-point play from Punter opened a 40-35 advantage. Jordan Loyd, in his first game back in Monaco's uniform, and Diallo cut the margin back to 41-39, but Chimezie Metu's tip-in and Punter on a fast break secured a 47-39 halftime Barcelona lead.
James scored 5 points to open the third quarter, but Barcelona scored the next 8, with Punter tallying 5 and Parker netting a triple, as the hosts went 55-44 ahead. James and Motiejunas snapped the hosts' run, but Barcelona started dominating as Parker and Laprovittola combined to score the team's next 12 points, extending it to 67-49. Papagiannis put an end to a 12-1 run and Okobo hit a three-pointer, but a pair of jumpers from Vesely had Barcelona up 71-54 after 30 minutes.
A corner three from Brizuela made it a 20-point game after the opening possession of the fourth, but a triple from Jaron Blosomgame and a layup from Diallo trimmed the gap to 15 points, 76-61. Okobo scored four more points to get Monaco within 11 points midway through the fourth, but Barcelona stepped up defensively, and a second-chance triple from Punter got the lead back to 81-65, ending any doubts with 3:06 to go.