AS Monaco pulled out a dramatic Game 4 win over Olympiacos Piraeus, a 78-77 decision that came down to the final shot, which Kostas Sloukas missed from behind the arc.
Thomas's heart, character sparked Monaco to Game 4 win
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Monaco had several heroes, with Dwayne Bacon scoring 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including a game-winning jumper, and Mike James facilitating and collecting 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
However, Monaco's third-best scorer, Will Thomas, had an equally important role, at the very least.
"Maybe it is unfair to give a role of being the best to someone, but for me Will Thomas, and not just in this game; he is the heart of this team," head coach Sasa Obradovic said of the veteran power forward after the game.
Thomas scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Playing 33 minutes, he made 5 of 6 two-pointers, knocked down his both three-point attempts, and pulled in 4 rebounds, including a pair on the offensive glass.
His first triple, from the right corner early in the third quarter, started a 13-3 run that took Monaco from an 11-point deficit to within a single point. His baseline jumper gave Monaco its first lead of the second half, 60-59, and his fastbreak layup capped a 12-2 finishing run to the third quarter.
Thomas then scored the first 5 points of the fourth, giving Monaco a 70-61 margin. Olympiacos came back and the game went down to the final seconds, but Thomas had given Monaco life.
"Sometimes you cannot see in his statistics the job he does on defense, grabbing the rebounds, supporting the teammates," Obradovic continued. "An unbelievable professional, a guy who is leading by example every day. One of the few in my career who is behaving this way. Somehow it was clear, from day one, that this guy, with his experience, basketball IQ and his character, will be the character guy and give us stability. And he did, today and in other games."
Thomas brought all that to Game 5, and his massive contribution helped Monaco force a deciding game of this exciting best-of-five series.