Five games follow on Friday night, with Paris's trip to Hapoel rescheduled for March 3
Game Center: Monaco triumphs in Valencia; home wins for Dubai, Panathinaikos, Madrid
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Thursday, January 8
Dubai Basketball 92-81 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Dubai ground out an impressive home win over champs Fenerbahce after big man Kenan Kamenjas came off the bench to produce a monster double-double of 20 points and 15 boards. The hosts led throughout the titanic clash and fended off a Fenerbahce rally as the visitors came up with a 0-10 run that closed the gap to 73-69 early in the fourth. Dubai improved to 10-11 after bouncing back from two successive defeats while Fenerbahce dropped to 13-7 after seeing it’s four-game winning streak snapped.
Livewire McKinley Wright also shined for the hosts on 22 points after shooting 9-of-11 from inside as he pulled all the strings in back court. Dwayne Bacon chipped in with 15 points, Mfiondu Kabengele netted 14 and Justin Anderson added 11. At the other end, Wade Baldwin paced Fenerbahce on 21 points while Talen Horton-Tucker scored 15 and Mikael Jantunen amassed 13.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 84-71 Virtus Bologna
Panathinaikos got back to winning ways by defeating Virtus 84-71 on Thursday night at Telekom Center Athens. A low-scoring affair in the opening stages was followed by a 14-2 run from the hosts, who took a 23-15 lead into the second quarter. Virtus responded with a 2-10 surge, trimming down the deficit to 39-33 at halftime, but Panathinaikos tightened up its defense and pulled away in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed.
Having grabbed its first home win in three games, the Greens improved their record to 13-8. Meanwhile, Virtus suffered its first loss in three duels, dropping to 10-11. Kendrick Nunn paced Panathinaikos with 21 points, while Richaun Holmes paired his 16 points with 9 rebounds. Carsen Edwards led all scorers with 24 points and Matthew Morgan scored 12 in a losing effort.
Valencia Basket 92-101 AS Monaco
Monaco claimed a share of first place by downing Valencia 92-101 for its fifth straight win. Darius Thompson scored 7 early points to send Valencia ahead, but 8 points in less than a minute from Nikola Mirotic kept Monaco close, 28-26, at the end of the first. Three fast baskets from Jaron Blossomgame sparked a 2-11 run, sending the visitor ahead, 42-53, at the interval. Monaco stretched the lead as high as 14 points in the third quarter, which ended with Valencia fighting back to 70-76. But Nemanja Nedovic opened the final frame with 11 points in less than 2 minutes, restoring control which Monaco never lost.
It was another hugely impressive collective performance from Monaco, led by a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists from Mike James. Alpha Diallo top scored with 17 points, Nedovic netted 16, Kevarrius Hayes scored 15, Blossomgame added 14 and Mirotic scored 13. Valencia was paced by 18 points from Kameron Taylor while Thompson added 17, Jean Montero scored 15 and Nate Reuvers added 12. The teams are now tied near the top of the standings with 14-7 records, but Monaco holds the head-to-head advantage after also winning at home earlier in the season.
Real Madrid 98-86 Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Real Madrid recorded its fifth consecutive home victory by downing Maccabi 98-86 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Real improved to 13-8 in the standings while Maccabi dropped 8-13 and is now on a three-game losing streak. Real center Walter Tavares became the EuroLeague's all-time leading rebounder and finished the game with 2,016 boards.
Mario Hezonja paced the winners with 16 points. Facu Campazzo added 15, Trey Lyles and Andres Feliz each had 12, Gabriel Deck got 11 while Tavares pulled down 11 rebounds for Real, which trailed 45-47 near halftime. TJ Leaf led Maccabi with 15 points. John DiBartolomeo added 14, Iffe Lundberg 12, Jimmy Clark 11 and Jaylen Hoard 10 for the visitors. Real improved its defense after the break, allowing 39 points and holding Maccabi to just 4-of-18 two-point shooting (22.2% 2FG) in the second half, enough to get control of the game and keep it until the final buzzer.
Friday, January 9
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (19:00 CET)
A pair of direct rivals fighting to stay in the all-important top 10 meet in Kaunas as Zalgiris (11-9) welcomes Zvezda (11-9). Both teams have struggled to maintain their outstanding early-season form, with Zalgiris suffering its latest loss at Virtus on Tuesday despite another strong game from Azuolas Tubelis (22 points, 5 rebounds). He faces a big battle with Zvezda’s stretch four Chima Moneke, whose 15 points and 9 boards were not enough to prevent a fifth defeat in seven games against Valencia earlier this week. The home team defense will have to deal with Jordan Nwora, who has netted 24 and 22 points in the last two games, while Zvezda’s defensive focus is disrupting the playmaking of league leading distributor Sylvain Francisco (7.0 assists per game).
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FC Bayern Munich (20:15 CET)
Olympiacos (11-8) faces a tough test on its home floor from rejuvenated Bayern (7-13). The German team made it two wins out of two by scoring 36 fourth-quarter points to down Baskonia on Wednesday, with Andreas Obst serving another reminder of his scoring abilities (37 points). Olympiacos is looking to rebound from a defeat at Fenerbahce, when the usual heroics from Sasha Vezenkov (24 points) were not enough to overcome poor long-range shooting (5-of-23). The Reds hope to have Nikola Milutinov back from injury – if not, more responsibility will be placed on the shoulders of Donta Hall, who had a double-double (16 points, 11 boards) in Istanbul. Bayern has added backcourt depth with the addition of Nenad Dimitrijevic, who made a solid debut with 8 points and 4 assists on Wednesday night.
FC Barcelona vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (20:30 CET)
It is a night of reunions at the Palau Blaugrana as Barcelona (13-7) welcomes free-falling Partizan (6-14). The visiting team will be led by former Barca coach Joan Penarroya, who will look for big contributions from a pair of players in equally familiar surroundings: playmaker Nick Calathes and shooter Jabari Parker. The game will be preceded by December’s MVP presentation to home star Kevin Punter who – like teammate Jan Vesely – will try to pile more pain onto his former club. Partizan slipped to a fifth straight loss at Monaco earlier this week while Barca got back into winning ways by downing Maccabi, with big man Toko Shengelia making a successful return from injury as he powered to 22 points. Finding defensive resistance to repel him, Punter and fit-again Nico Laprovittola is Partizan’s challenge.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:30 CET)
Milan (10-10) will look to keep pushing towards the top 10 by downing struggling Efes (6-14). The Italian team showed its potential with an impressive road victory over Panathinaikos on Tuesday, led by the usual long-range scoring heroics of Armoni Brooks (24 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting). The visitors, who have lost four in a row, will hope to get a boost from new backcourt signing Saben Lee, and would greatly welcome Vincent Poirier’s presence if the big man can return from injury – if he is absent, Efes could struggle to contain the threat of Milan powerhouse Josh Nebo, who has averaged 15.3 points and 5.3 boards in the last three games. Milan won 93-97 when the teams met in Istanbul in October, and will fancy its chances of completing a sweep on Friday.
Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:30 CET)
Two teams fighting to escape last place meet in Vitoria as Baskonia (6-14) hosts ASVEL (6-14). Baskonia needs to overcome the disappointment of a fourth-quarter collapse at Bayern on Wednesday, and hopes to welcome back former ASVEL star Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and fellow shooter Markus Howard after they were unavailable in Round 20. The French team will lean heavily on the backcourt duo of ex-Baskonia playmaker Thomas Heurtel and Glynn Watson, while new frontcourt signing Paul Eboua will hope to continue his integration with significant minutes. ASVEL has not won on the road all season but can take confidence from beating Baskonia in Round 2, when 23 points from Zac Seljaas, including 5 triples, secured a 102-95 win. Seljaas has gone 0-of-9 from deep in the last two games, so a return to form would be welcome.