Each of five Friday games finished with a margin of seven points or fewer
Game Center: Five single-digit home wins end double-round week
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Friday, November 14
Dubai Basketball 95-89 Zalgiris Kaunas
Dubai Basketball completed a perfect double-round week by defeating visiting Zalgiris Kaunas 95-89 at Coca-Cola Arena on Friday evening. The Lithuanian team led 24-34 after 10 minutes, but Dubai reduced the margin to 45-48 at halftime. A 16-0 run midway through the third quarter granted the home team a 73-64 advantage entering the last stanza. Zalgiris managed to get as close as 90-87 with less than one minute remaining, before free throws by Dwayne Bacon and Mfiondu Kabengele sealed the outcome and confirmed the host’s second home win of the week.
Kabengele led Dubai with a solid double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, Aleksa Avramovic scored 16 points and dished 6 assists, Filip Petrusev posted 14 points and Bacon added 12 more for the winners. Azuolas Tubelis provided career highs in points (22) and PIR (25) to pace Zalgiris, which also had Sylvain Francisco (15), Deividas Sirvydis (12), Arnas Butkevicius (11) and Moses Wright (10) in double figures. Dubai improves to 5-6, while Zalgiris drops to 7-4.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 74-72 FC Bayern Munich
Anadolu Efes Istanbul snapped a three-game losing streak by surviving a comeback from FC Bayern Munich, 74-72, in a home game played in Antalya. Efes built a 15-point lead early in the fourth quarter but Bayern fought back and missed two shots in the final possession, as the Turkish side improved to 4-7 after losing five of the six previous games. Isaia Cordinier scored a career-high 26 points and Roland Smits had 15 points in the win. However, the triumph had a bitter aftertaste as Efes star Shane Larkin went down with a groin injury late in the first quarter and did not return. Bayern was swept in the double rounder and fell to 5-6 despite Isiaha Mike scoring 15 points.
FC Barcelona 88-81 Virtus Bologna
FC Barcelona rallied from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Virtus Bologna 88-81 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 11 on Friday. Barca improved to 7-4 in the standings while Virtus dropped to 5-6 and is now on a four-game losing streak on the road. Virtus led 61-69 before Dario Brizuela, Joel Parra and Tomas Satoransky fueled a 16-0 run that put Barca ahead for good, 77-69. Virtus managed to get within 83-80 but Will Clyburn sealed the deal with a bomb from downtown.Kevin Punter led the winners with 17 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers. Clyburn added 13, Jan Vesely had 12 while Toko Shengelia and Nico Laprovittola each got 10 for Barca. Matt Morgan led Virtus with 17 points off the bench. Carsen Edwards and Karim Jallow each added 13 while Momo Diouf had 11 for the guests. Barca pulled down 14 offensive rebounds, finishing the game with 20 assists and just 9 turnovers.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 88-87 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
ASVEL snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 3-8 with a gritty 88-87 home win over Partizan, which dropped to 4-7 after its patchy form continued. The Serbian side committed 17 turnovers and shot a poor 10-of-32 from downtown in a below-par performance.
ASVEL made a fast and furious start, carving out a 16-2 lead thanks to a barrage of fast breaks. The French outfit stayed in control throughout the first half to engineer a 42-36 advantage at halftime. Partizan was able to draw level, 44-44, early in the third but a four-point play by Glynn Watson ignited an 11-0 ASVEL run which put the home team back in the driving seat. The visitors found another gear in the fourth to nose ahead 71-73. In a hectic home straight, however, ASVEL had the last laugh to clinch the rollercoaster and give its noisy fans something to cheer about.
Watson and Zachary Seljaas paced ASVEL on 18 points apiece while David Lighty chipped in with 16. Shaquille Harrison scored 12 and Armel Traore posted 11 for the home team. At the other end, Sterling Brown led Partizan on a game-high 20 points while Duane Washington netted 19 and Dylan Osetkowski amassed 16 for Partizan.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 88-87 Olympiacos Piraeus
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan completed a perfect double-round week by edging Olympiacos Piraeus 88-87 at Unipol Forum on Friday night. Despite missing six players and head coach Ettore Messina, the hosts started strong and secured a 47-43 cushion at halftime. Milan tightened up its defense in the third quarter, holding the Reds to just 13 points and opening a 67-56 lead. Olympiacos pushed for a late comeback and outscored Milan 21-31 in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to snatch the win. The Italian side extended its winning streak to four games and improved its record to 6-5, with the visitors dropping to 7-4. Quinn Ellis paced Milan with 16 points, Armoni Brooks netted 15 and Devin Booker added 13. Alec Peters led all scorers with 27 points, followed by Tyler Dorsey, who scored 25 in defeat.
Thursday, November 13
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 91-79 AS Monaco
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade moved back into a share of first place after a well-deserved 91-79 home win over Monaco. The result lifted the winners to 8-3 and dropped Monaco to 6-5 after a second straight tough loss in the Serbian capital, following Tuesday’s dramatic 78-76 defeat to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
The lead kept changing hands in a lively first quarter with Monaco nosing ahead 23-25 lead after the opening 10 minutes, courtesy of good work from Alpha Diallo and Mike James who combined for 16 points. Monaco then pulled away into a 28-37 lead midway through the second and although Zvezda hit back with a 12-3 run to draw level, 40-40, the visitors were ahead 42-46 at halftime. Good shooting from Ognjen Dobric kept Zvezda going throughout the third quarter and the hosts edged into a 65-64 lead ahead of the final 10 minutes. In a rugged and physical final period, Zvezda prevailed on the back of an inspired solo effort from its latest acquisition Jared Butler.
Dobric paced Zvezda as he matched his career-high with 22 points while Butler chipped in 20. Semi Ojeleye poured 14 points and Codi Miller-McIntyre added 12 for the hosts, who shot 12-of-18 from downtown. James topped Monaco on 18 points, Elie Okobo scored 16 and Jaron Blossomgame netted 11 for the visitors.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 74-68 Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv
In a meeting of the reigning EuroLeague and EuroCup champions, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul grinded out at 74-68 victory over Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv. A low-scoring first quarter ended all-square, 13-13, and the second period was a similar story as halftime arrived at 27-28. Fenerbahce started the third quarter with an 11-0 burst, before a flurry of scoring made it 54-44 with 10 minutes left. Hapoel kept fighting, but the Turkish team’s defense stood firm in the final stages.
Talen Horton-Tucker paced Fenerbahce with 15 points, while Devon Hall added 14. Bonzie Colson and Tarik Biberovic both scored 10 and Nicolo Melli bagged 10 rebounds. Elijah Bryant paced Hapoel with 19 points, with Johnathan Motley adding 14 and Vasilije Micic scoring 11. Fenerbahce improves to 6-5 with a third straight win, with Hapoel dropping to 8-3.
Real Madrid 77-87 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens completed a perfect two-round week on the road by beating Real Madrid 77-87 at Movistar Arena on Thursday evening. The visitors were in control from the off and led from start to finish, with TJ Shorts and Kostas Sloukas dictating the tempo and Kenneth Faried dominating in the paint in just his second game for the Greens. Ergin Ataman’s side improved its record to 7-4, with Real Madrid dropping to 5-6 after snapping its five-game winning streak at home.
Shorts ended the game on a season-high 19 points, which he paired with 6 assists. Faried recorded 16 points and 8 rebounds, with Sloukas scoring 15 and distributing 7 dishes. Andres Feliz bagged a career-high 16 points, with Edy Tavares completing a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Paris Basketball 90-86 Valencia Basket
Paris Basketball stopped a four-game losing streak by rallying to edge Valencia Basket 90-86 at home in Round 11 on Thursday. Paris improved to 5-6 in the standings while Valencia dropped to 6-5. Valencia led 79-86 with less than 3 minutes left but Jeremy Morgan, Nadir Hifi and Sebastian Herrera each struck from downtown in final 11-0 run, which gave Paris the game.
Hifi led the winners with 17 points, Derek Willis added 15, Herrera scored 13 and Daulton Hommes 11 for Paris. Darius Thompson and Kameron Taylor paced Valencia with 13 points apiece, Josep Puerto netted 11 and Nate Reuvers 10 for the visitors, who were ahead for the best part of the game. When Hifi buried a step-back three-pointer to give Paris a 89-87 lead, it was the home team's first since early in the second quarter. It all came down to Paris's final possession, in which Herrera swished a game-clinching shot from beyond the arc with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 89-83 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv earned its third win of the season on Thursday night, when it overcame Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, 89-83. The teams went back-and-forth since the beginning of the game, with Maccabi earning the early lead. Despite the hosts’ consistent scoring, Baskonia refused to go away. Timothe-Luwawu-Cabarrot kept his team in the game, scoring in multiple ways. Midway through the third quarter, the visitors enjoyed an offensive run that edged them closer, before levelling the game in the final minute of the third. Maccabi found a second wind shortly after the final period began however, which Paolo Galbiati’s men couldn’t deal with.
T.J. Leaf played a major role in the victory, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals to a 19-point scoring performance. Jaylen Hoard’s 17-point, 11-board double-double added a hefty punch for the Israeli team, while Jimmy Clark, Lonnie Walker, Roman Sorkin and Jeff Dowtin also finished in double digits. The result moves both teams to 3-8 for the season, as they attempt to climb from the bottom end of table.