Six games are in the books from Thursday night
Game Center: Partizan downs Hapoel in OT thriller; wins for Fener, Zvezda, Barça
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Friday, January 23
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 84-71 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Fenerbahce cruised to a third straight win, and its 13th in its last 15 games, after using a huge second half to beat the visiting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 84-71 on Friday night. The victory improved Fenerbahce a joint league-best 16-7 record, while Baskonia dropped to 8-16. The visitors were trailing by a single point early in the third quarter, but Nando De Colo and Talen Horton-Tucker orchestrated a 13-0 to pull away for good. Another 12-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters broke the 20-point margin and the lead was as big as 28 points before Fenerbahce eased up towards the end.
Horton-Tucker starred with 21 points and 8 rebounds, Tarik Biberovic netted 12, while De Colo and Wade Baldwin scored 11 apiece. Eugene Omoruyi collected 14 points and 6 rebounds for Baskonia, with Kobi Simmons adding 13 in the loss.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 104-101 Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv
Partizan celebrated an epic overtime win against EuroLeague leader Hapoel after wiping out a 27-point third-quarter deficit, the joint-second biggest comeback in the competition’s history, as Sterling Brown netted 8 of his 13 points in the additional five minutes. Partizan improved to 8-16 after a second straight win following seven successive losses while Hapoel, which had won four of its previous five, dropped to 16-7.
In the opening half, Hapoel blew away Partizan which hosted the game in Munich, as Dan Oturu and Johnathan Motley bossed the paint while Vasilije Micic and Chris Jones dominated the backcourt, forging a 35-56 lead at the interval.
Partizan looked dead and buried when Hapoel romped ahead 37-64 early in the third but the home team, galvanized by droves of fans who stayed behind in Munich after Wednesday’s 63-67 win over Bayern, came storming back to force overtime. Brown finally showed up in crunch time as he sank a pair of layups followed by clutch free throws which traced the path to victory.
Cam Payne paced Partizan on 19 points and role player Arijan Lakic came off the bench to score 15, as Bruno Fernando racked up 14 points and 7 boards while Vanja Marinkovic, who suffered an injured at the end of regulation, delivered 12. Oturu led Hapoel and all scorers on 24 points as Micic netted 19, while Chris Jones scored 16 and Antonio Blakeney chipped in with 13.
Virtus Bologna 93-102 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Crvena Zvezda grabbed its third consecutive road victory by downing Virtus 93-102 in Round 24 on Friday. Zvezda improved to 14-10 in the standings and has a 2-0 record against Virtus, which dropped to 11-13. Sasa Obradovic's side broke the 100-point mark for the third consecutive game, breaking a club record for most points scored after three quarters with 82.
Jared Butler led seven Zvezda players in double digits with 16 points. Jordan Nwora added 15, Nikola Kalinic and Chima Moneke each had 13, Ebuka Izundu got 12, Semi Ojeleye 11 and Codi Miller-McIntyre 10 for Zvezda. Miller-McIntyre added 12 assists for a double-double. Momo Diouf led Virtus with 21 points, a new career-high. Derrick Alston Jr. added 18, Carsen Edwards 16 and Matt Morgan 14. Zvezda led 52-57 at halftime, boosted its margin to 68-82 after 30 minutes and did not find much trouble to seal the win long before the final buzzer.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 91-98 FC Barcelona
Barcelona completed a perfect double-round week by beating ASVEL 91-98 at the Astroballe on Friday night. An entertaining back-and-forth first half saw ASVEL take a 42-37 lead at halftime behind an impressive Glynn Watson, who netted 17 points before the break. Barcelona bounced back in the second half, with Kevin Punter and Toko Shengelia leading the charge to pull away midway through the fourth.
Punter led all scorers with 31 points and Shengelia netted 22 for Barcelona. Watson ended the game on 23 points, with Braian Angola pairing his 16 points with 5 assists on his EuroLeague debut. The visitors improved their record to 16-8 by recording their first win in three road games, while ASVEL suffered its fifth straight defeat, dropping to 6-18.
Thursday, January 22
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 68-74 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos stretched its winning streak to four games by beating Efes 68-74 in front of a sold-out crowd at Turkcell Basketball Development Center in Istanbul. Fresh off a home victory over Maccabi on Tuesday, Olympiacos opened the game with a 0-8 run before pulling away in the second quarter for a 31-48 lead at halftime.
The hosts bounced back, tightened up their defense and held the guests to just 10 points in the third quarter before 5 straight points from former Olympiacos guard Saben Lee brought Efes within 61-63 midway through the fourth. The Reds fought back and went on a 0-8 run to practically put the game to bed.
Having grabbed its first victory at Efes since 2017, Olympiacos improved its record to 15-8. Meanwhile, the Turkish side suffered its eighth straight defeat, dropping to 6-18. Sasha Vezenkov led all scorers with 19 points, while Tyler Dorsey and Evan Fournier had 11 each, with Thomas Walkup recording 9 assists. PJ Dozier paced his team with 16 points and Lee bagged 13.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 75-71 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Maccabi outlasted Panathinaikos 75-71 in a tight contest at Menora Mivtachim Arena. Jerian Grant scored 5 points in a 0-7 start for the Greens, but three quick scores from Roman Sorkin gave Maccabi its first lead, 15-14. Vassilis Toliopoulos led Panathinaikos back in front, 20-21, at the end of the first. The same back-and-forth pattern continued in the second quarter with neither team taking control, and Maccabi led at the break, 42-39.
Baskets were evenly traded in the third period, which ended with the visitors ahead, 59-60. Although Maccabi went ahead with a 6-0 run it remained very tight and Panathinaikos had late shots to win it, but they were all missed and the hosts held on.
Iffe Lundberg paced the host with 16 points, with Tamir Blatt netting 5 triples for his 15 points, and Sorkin paired 13 points with 8 rebounds. TJ Shorts orchestrated Panathinaikos’s offense with 13 points and 7 assists, while Grant led the visitors in scoring with 14. Nikos Rogkavopulos scored 13, and Richaun Holmes added 11. Maccabi improves to 10-14 and is now 3-0 at Menora Mivtachim Arena, while Panathinaikos drops to 14-10.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 82-86 Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris grinded out an 82-86 win at Milan after trailing for much of the contest and playing catch-up against the home team to string together two successive wins for the first time since early November. It was also a fourth straight victory for Zalgiris at Milan. Sylvain Francisco emerged as the visiting team’s hero after racking up 25 points and 6 assists, outshining home favorite Shavon Shields who amassed 27 points, 5 boards and 4 assists.
Milan produced a 14-2 run in the third quarter which turned a 6-pont deficit into a 62-56 lead, but Zalgiris hit back in crunch time as the visitors sank clutch three-pointers to wipe out a 74-70 deficit and turn it into a 76-80 advantage, with Maodo Lo sinking 2 of those shots from downtown.
Lo added 17 points for Zalgiris, Arnas Butkevicius chipped in with 11 while big man Moses Wright amassed 10 and 6 boards as Zalgiris improved to 14-10. Josh Nebo and Marko Guduric sank 12 points apiece for Milan, the latter also collecting 11 boards, while Zach LeDay scored 10 points for the home team, which dropped to 11-13.
FC Bayern Munich 93-89 Valencia Basket
In a fun-to-watch, run-and-gun showdown, Bayern returned to winning ways by downing Valencia 93-89 at SAP Garden. Bayern improved to 9-15 in the standings while Valencia dropped to 15-9. Two days after registering a 63-67 home loss against Partizan, Bayern scored over 90 points for the fourth time this season.
Vladimir Lucic led the winners with 19 points on 10-of-10 free-throw shooting. Justinian Jessup added 16 off the bench, Isiaha Mike scored 14 and Andreas Obst and Neno Dimitrijevic each had 12 for Bayern, which kept a safe lead throughout the first half to seal the outcome minutes before the final buzzer. Kameron Taylor paced Valencia with 20 points. Jean Montero netted 13, Nate Reuvers 12 and Brancou Badio 10 for the visitors, who registered their third loss in the last four games.
Real Madrid 90-78 AS Monaco
Real Madrid notched its sixth win in a row after holding off a late Monaco fightback to triumph 90-78. Facundo Campazzo was the architect of the victory, causing problems for Monaco all night long and finishing with a 17-point, 10-assist double-double. An added bonus for Real Madrid is that its 12-point win means it now has the tie-break advantage over Monaco, which downed Los Blancos by 5 in Round 18. This was not a good week for Monaco, though, as it followed up its home loss to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade by losing in Madrid.
Trey Lyles joined Campazzo in double figures in scoring with 20 points, in addition to pulling down 7 rebounds. Edy Tavares had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, Mario Hezonja netted 12 points, and Usman Garuba poured in 11. Mike James led Monaco in scoring with 19 points, followed by Nikola Mirotic with 15, and Matthew Strazel and Daniel Theis with 12 apiece.
Paris Basketball 79-99 Dubai Basketball
Dubai comfortably overwhelmed Paris, leaving Adidas Arena with a 79-99 victory. In just the second official meeting between the teams, Jurica Golemac’s team raced out to a convincing lead in the opening minutes and refused the surrender it throughout. The hosts snapped a two-game losing streak to move to 11-13 and give them a lifeline in the race for playoff basketball, while Paris falls to 7-16.
Dubai spread the offensive load tremendously, with five players scoring in double figures. Center Filip Petrusev put on the headline performance with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Mfiondu Kabengele also made a significant impact, recording 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Dzanan Musa, in his second game back from a lengthy injury layoff, added 13 points in 15 minutes. Jared Rhoden led the way for Paris with 19 points and Justin Robinson tallied 13 points and 5 assists.