Fenerbahce, Barcelona, Milan and Panathinaikos were victorious on Thursday night
Game Center: Huge night for Vezenkov, Olympiacos; ASVEL, Madrid, Zvezda, Virtus win
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Friday, January 10
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 76-82 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
ASVEL came back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit, not allowing a single field goal in the fourth quarter, as it beat Efes 76-82 on Friday night. The win improved ASVEL to a 9-11 record and saw Pierric Poupet's men sweep the season series against Efes, which dropped to 10-10 and 0-1 under new head coach Luca Banchi.
Zalgiris Kaunas 64-83 Real Madrid
Real Madrid grabbed its fifth consecutive victory by edging Zalgiris 64-83 on the road in Round 20 on Friday. Real improved to 11-9 in the standings while Zalgiris dropped to 10-10 and is on a four-game losing streak. Los Blancos' 19-point win saw them also take the tiebreak advantage after registering a nine-point loss against Zalgiris in Round 15.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 85-69 Paris Basketball
Crvena Zvezda rolled on with a resounding 85-69 home win over Paris in the EuroLeague, improving to 12-8 after its fourth successive victory while the visitors dropped to 11-8 following a fifth defeat in a row.
Olympiacos Piraeus 112-69 FC Bayern Munich
Olympiacos and Sasha Vezenkov enjoyed a historic night on Friday as the Reds thrashed Bayern 112-69 at Peace and Friendship Stadium. Despite the absences of Evan Fournier and captain Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos led from start to finish, with Vezenkov recording a career-high 45 points – the third most points in EuroLeague history. The hosts shared the ball smoothly throughout the game, registering a club-record 36 assists. Olympiacos remains top of the standings with a 14-6 record, while Bayern dropped to 11-9 after suffering its fourth loss in five games.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 76-74 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Virtus survived another major drama against Baskonia to continue its push up the lower ranks of the standings with a 76-74 win at home. Virtus wasted a 15-point lead but managed to fend off the Spanish side for the second time in the last six rounds in moving to 6-14. The Italian outfit also took its record to 4-2 under new head coach Dusko Ivanovic – the first win being the improbable 81-82 win over Baskonia in Spain in Round 15.
Thursday, January 9
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 90-73 ALBA Berlin
Fenerbahce recorded two straight victories for the first time since Rounds 10 and 11 by beating ALBA at Ulker Sports and Event Hall. A tight, back-and-forth affair in the first three quarters was followed by a 22-4 Fenerbahce charge in the fourth to finish the game off. With this victory, Fenerbahce improved its record to 12-7. ALBA registered its seventh consecutive loss and dropped to 3-17. Sertac Sanli led all scorers with a season-high 18 points and Marko Guduric and Nigel Hayes-Davis netted 14 each. Gabriele Procida paced ALBA with 14 points.
AS Monaco 84-98 FC Barcelona
Barcelona delivered a strong road performance to triumph at Monaco, improving to 11-9 in its quest to climb the standings. Monaco dropped to 13-7 and will lose a share of first place if Olympiacos Piraeus beats FC Bayern Munich on Friday. Barcelona controlled early on and took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter before Monaco fought back to make it 41-45 at the break. Monaco briefly led in the third but the visitor pulled away again, standing firm in the final minutes for a key win. Dario Brizuela led the way with a career-high 27 points and Chimizie Metu added 13 points plus 8 rebounds. Mike James paced Monaco with 23 points and 8 assists.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 74-107 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Milan earned an important victory in its battle to make the playoffs by rolling past Maccabi in Belgrade. Milan took the third quarter 17-33 to lay the foundation for its second straight win to move to 11-9. Milan avoided a slip-up against struggling Maccabi with Shavon Shields pacing five scorers in double figures with 18 points. Maccabi lost for the seventh time in the last eight games and now has a 5-15 record. Roman Sorkin led the losing side with 16 points.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 96-84 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Reigning champion Panathinaikos improved to 13-7 and celebrated its fifth successive victory after overpowering Partizan on the back of a game-high 25 points from top scorer Kendrick Nunn and a majestic display from Jerian Grant. With influential playmakers Lorenzo Brown and Kostas Sloukas sidelined, Grant pulled all the strings on offense as he racked up 14 points, 8 assists and 7 boards, propelling a smooth effort at both ends. At the other end, Sterling Brown stood out for Partizan with 23 points, but the visitors dropped to a 9-11 record.