The two guards caught fire and helped Bayern grab its second win of the young season
Edwards, Napier made it rain against Paris at SAP Garden
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It's fair to say that the fans inside SAP Garden were treated on Thursday night as FC Bayern Munich edged Paris Basketball 109-107 in Round 4. Two of Bayern's star men on the night, Shabazz Napier and Carsen Edwards, provided the fireworks from beyond the arc.
Edwards finished the game with 32 points, matching the club-record tally – and personal-best mark – he set last season. That came in a 91-84 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on December 5, 2023. In fact, only one other Bayern player has scored 30 points or more in a EuroLeague game: Dusko Savanovic had 31 in a 95-89 victory over PGE Turow Zgorzelec on December 11, 2014.
"I was able to make some shots. There are so many things that I could have done better, could have finished around the rim a lot better, but I am just happy we got the win and figure out ways to get better," Edwards told EuroLeague TV after the game.
"I am just thankful for the win. Every game is an opportunity for us to see how we can get better, so we will use it to this game, watch it, review it and find ways to get better."
Napier added 27 points, one shy of his career high. Previously, he had 28 points for Milan in an 84-88 road victory over Valencia Basket on March 7, 2023. Napier also shared the ball well on Thursday night, finishing the game with 5 assists and just one turnover while amassing a PIR of 29, a new personal best.
Napier and Edwards each buried 6 three-pointers, which is not something that is regularly seen on a EuroLeague court. Indeed, it is just the sixth time in competition history that two teammates have buried six three-pointers or more.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul did it twice last season; Tyler Dorsey buried 8 and Scottie Wilbekin hit 6 in a 118-88 home win against Valencia on March 14, 2024, then Wilbekin and Dorsey nailed 6 triples apiece in Game 4 of the playoffs against AS Monaco, which Fenerbahce lost 93-88.
The only time that two teammates hit 7 three-pointers in a game came on December 22, 2005. Anadolu Efes Istanbul pair Marko Popovic and Henry Domercant each buried 7 shots from downtown to beat Milan 85-57.
Andreas Obst (twice) and D.J. Seeley share Bayern's single-game record for made three-pointers, having experienced the feeling of knocking down 7 in a game.
Bayern also set a new club record for its two-point shooting percentage in a game. The hosts hit 76.7% of its shots inside the arc, making 23 of 30. Its previous record was 73.0%, 27 of 37, against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv last season. Bayern was also near-perfect from the free-throw line, hitting 21 of 22 attempts. Johannes Voigtmann missed that one attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining.
Napier thanked the fans for their supports and believes turning SAP Garden into a fortress is the first step to build something special.
"It was exciting, it was a back-and-forth game, that's the way the play. We just tried our best to limit them as much as we can but they have some great players over there. I think we did a great job," Napier said. "We have a great crowd here. It was a packed arena, there were moments when we needed them and they came through for us. I think that's one of the big things about having this big arena, having this sixth man effect. We needed that push towards the end."