Seven games are in the books from Wednesday and Thursday, with just three remaining this Friday night
Game Center: Real Madrid secures bragging rights in El Clásico; Fener, Hapoel grab wins
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Friday, January 16
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 82-79 Valencia Basket
On the night Nando De Colo made his second Fenerbahce debut, the defending champions held off the visiting Valencia 82-79 to register their 11th win in the last 13 games. Both teams now hold a 14-8 record, but Valencia does hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the reigning champions.
Fenerbahce pulled away to a double-digit lead behind its defense and a 14-1 second-quarter run, and it had the game in control until the final 2 minutes. That’s when Jean Montero strung together 10 points to get the visitors within 80-77, before Montero’s steal gave Valencia a chance to tie the game. But his three-point attempt was blocked by Wade Baldwin, then a triple from Nate Reuvers was also missed as Fenerbahce prevailed.
The hosts had six players score in double figures, with De Colo pacing the team on 16 points. Nicolo Melli had 12 points, while Wade Baldwin and Brandon Boston netted 11 apiece. Reuvers posted 17 points for Valencia, Montero finished with 14, while Kam Taylor and Jaime Pradilla scored 13 each in the loss.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 73-81 Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv
Hapoel overcame dreadful shooting from deep in the first half and wiped out a 12-point deficit early in the second to defeat ASVEL 73-81 and reclaim top spot in the standings, having improved to 15-6. ASVEL drooped to 6-16 after its third straight loss. Hapoel trailed 45-33 early in the third quarter and missed its opening eight attempts from long range but found its rhythm when the chips were down and prevailed thanks to ironclad defense which saw the visitors pull away to 70-77 in the home straight. The Israeli side finished 3-of-15 from downtown and committed 17 turnovers against 16 assists but also shot 28-of-42 from inside as big man Dan Oturu enjoyed a rampant second half, amassing 18 points and 7 boards.
Elijah Bryant chipped in with 17 points, Chris Jones scored 12 and Johnathan Motley added 10 for Hapoel. ASVEL sank a relatively decent 10-of-33 from deep but committed 19 turnovers having dished out 18 assists, struggling to make shots down the stretch as Hapoel’s deeper roster made the difference. Glynn Watson paced the home team on 17 points as Shaquille Harrison netted 14 and Melvin Ajinca scored 12.
Real Madrid 80-61 FC Barcelona
Real Madrid confirmed its good form by downing archrival FC Barcelona 80-61 in the Spanish capital in Round 22 on Friday. Real improved to 14-8 and is on a four-game winning streak, while it grabbed its sixth consecutive home victory and now has a 2-0 record against Barca, which dropped to 14-8. Real won all four quarters and held Barca to its lowest score in this EuroLeague season.
Usman Garuba led the winners with 16 points on 4-of-5 two-pointers and 2-of-2 three-pointers. Mario Hezonja and Gaby Deck each added 12 while Edy Tavares had 11 for Real. Deck buried all of his four shots from beyond the arc. Dario Brizuela led Barca with 13 points. Nico Laprovittola had 12 while Toko Shengelia added 10 for the guests. Real managed to hold Barca's leading scorer Kevin Punter to just three points, all of them from the foul line. Real led 43-31 at halftime, boosted its margin to 63-47 at the end of the third quarter and had plenty of time to celebrate a very important win in front of its fans.
Thursday, January 15
Dubai Basketball 72-80 Virtus Bologna
Virtus did just about enough to earn a crucial 72-80 victory over Dubai on Thursday at Coca-Cola Arena. The win moved the Italian side to 11-11 with its third road win of the season. Dubai suffered its second home loss of the campaign, as it slipped to 10-12.
The teams traded runs for most of the first three quarters, with Coach Dusko Ivanovic’s men heading into the final quarter ahead by 7. Dubai put together a valiant comeback effort, but turnovers hurt the home side and big shots from Carsen Edwards decided the game on the other side of the floor.
Saliou Niang played the starring role for the visitors with 17 points and 17 rebounds - the latter number marking a career-high and matching the club record. Edwards finished with 21 points and 4 dishes and Derrick Alston Jr. contributed 12 points. Aleksa Avramovic led the way in scoring for Dubai with 17.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 75-89 Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Baskonia grabbed a long-awaited road victory by topping Efes 75-89 at Turkcell Basketball Development Center in Round 22 on Thursday. Baskonia improved to 8-14 and snapped an 19-game road losing streak that had started in December 2024. Meanwhile, Efes dropped to 6-16 and is on a six-game losing streak.
Rodions Kurucs led the winners with 18 points on 4 of 4 three-point shooting. Trent Forrest added 17, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 15 and Kobi Simmons had 14 for Baskonia, which buried 25 of 27 free throws (92.6%). Jordan Loyd paced Efes with 12 points, Isaia Cordinier added 11 and Rolands Smits had 10 for Efes, which led 59-58 at the end of the third quarter. Kurucs led a 0-7 run to put Baskonia in charge for good, 59-65. Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 10 points in the last 6 minutes to make sure that Baskonia returned to Vitoria-Gasteiz with a road victory.
FC Bayern Munich 85-78 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Bayern collected its third straight home victory by beating Panathinaikos 85-78. Andreas Obst delivered 2 three-pointers in the final 62 seconds for Bayern, which improved to 8-14 - including 7-4 at home. Justinian Jessup tallied 16 points to pace Bayern, Obst finished with 15 points and Wenyen Gabriel added 12. The German side is now 3-2 under new head coach Svetislav Pesic.
Panathinaikos has dropped three of the last four games for a 13-9 record. Cedi Osman led the way with 20 points and Jerian Grant had 17 points while Kostas Sloukas dished out 5 assists to join Nick Calathes as the only players to reach the 2,000 assist mark in EuroLeague history.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 100-97 Zalgiris Kaunas
Maccabi got back to winning ways by edging Zalgiris Kaunas 100-97 on Thursday night at Menora Mivtachim Arena. A back-and-forth first half saw the two teams trade blows, with the hosts securing a 52-49 advantage at halftime.
Maccabi opened a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but Zalgiris fought back in the closing stages, with a Sylvain Francisco triple bringing the visitors within 99-97 with 7 seconds to go. Jimmy Clark split his free throws on the other end, but Azuolas Tubelis's misplaced inbounds pass proved costly for the Lithuanian side.
Having put an end to its three-game losing slide, Maccabi improved its record to 9-13. Meanwhile, Zalgiris suffered its second straight defeat on the road, dropping to 12-10. Jimmy Clark, Roman Sorkin and TJ Leaf paced the hosts with 17 points each, while Iffe Lundberg bagged 13. Francisco led all scorers with 22 points and Moses Wright paired his 17 points with 11 rebounds in defeat.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 96-104 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Crvena Zvezda stormed back from a 55-44 halftime deficit to overpower Milan on the road and improve to 12-10, while the Italian team dropped to 11-11 after a fiercely contested dogfight. Zvezda’s players were given a standing ovation by a handful of visiting fans after the Serbian side dominated the fourth quarter 14-34 to silence the home fans. Having trailed 25-27 after the opening 10 minutes, Milan led until early in the fourth when Zvezda put together a 1-15 run and turned the tide.
Jordan Nwora paced Zvezda on 22 points while Chima Moneke and Jared Butler chipped in with 18 each. Codi Miller-McIntyre racked up 15 points, 8 boards and 7 assists and Nikola Kalinic also served up a big all round performance in the second half to finish on 10 points, 5 boards, 2 steals and as many blocks. At the other end, Shavon Shields led Milan on 22 points and Leandro Bolmaro added 13. Josh Nebo posted 12 points, Marko Guduric 11 and Armoni Brooks scored 10.
Paris Basketball 87-95 AS Monaco
Monaco completed the season sweep of Paris with an 87-95 win in the French capital. Paris opened the game on an 8-0 run, but Mike James poured in 17 first-quarter points to swing the momentum. Monaco went on to lead for the final 35 minutes, though Paris briefly tied the game twice – at 27-27 in the second quarter and 59-59 in the third.
After his hot start, James cooled off as Nikola Mirotic and Alpha Diallo took on bigger roles, while Matthew Strazel and Elie Okobo remained steady scoring threats. Daniel Theis, back in the rotation after missing Round 21, made several key plays alongside Kevarrius Hayes, with the two centers combining for 7 blocks. The win improves Monaco to 15-7, while Paris falls to 7-14.
James finished with 23 points, Diallo added 16, Okobo scored 12, Mirotic had 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Strazel chipped in 10. For Paris, Nadir Hifi led the way with 19 points, followed by Jared Rhoden with 17 and Lamar Stevens with 11.
Wednesday, January 14
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 66-104 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos grabbed its fifth win in six games by thrashing Partizan 66-104 on Wednesday night at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. An exchange of blows in the first quarter was followed by a 0-12 run to end the second, as the visitors grabbed a 30-52 lead at halftime. The Reds didn’t take their foot off the gas, held Partizan to just 13 points in the third quarter and practically finished the game off.
Having grabbed the second largest road victory in club history, Olympiacos improved its record to 13-8. Meanwhile, bottom-placed Partizan suffered its seventh straight loss and dropped to 6-16.
Sasha Vezenkov paced the visitors with 25 points, having gone 9-for-12 from the field. Thomas Walkup, Tyler Dorsey, Alec Peters, Nikola Milutinov and Donta Hall netted 12 each. Partizan's Duane Washington went 10-for-15 from the field, ending the game on a career-high 28 points.