There were three road winners on Thursday, but how many will we have after Friday's action?
Game Center: Barcelona wins in OT; three home triumphs elsewhere
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Friday, October 18
AS Monaco 101-85 Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Monaco breezed to a 101-85 home victory over Virtus in Round 4 of the EuroLeague season, improving its record to 3-1 after high-scoring guard Mike James finally served up a vintage performance with 19 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Elie Okobo paced the home team with a game-high 20 points, Mam Jaiteh chipped in with 15 and 7 boards while Vitto Brown amassed 14 points and 4 rebounds. Matthew Strazel netted 12 points and Jordan Loyd added 11 to underline a flowing team effort from Monaco, which found another gear in the second half after trailing 46-47 at the interval. At the other end, Toko Shengelia stood out for Virtus with 17 points, Momo Diouf scored 12 while Matt Morgan and Isaia Cordinier netted 11 each for the visitors, who remain rooted to the bottom of the standings after suffering a fourth successive defeat.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 91-89 Olympiacos Piraeus
Efes overturned a 15-point deficit to down Olympiacos, 91-89, despite only leading for two minutes all night. Both teams now have a 2-2 record. Olympiacos raced into an early double-digit lead through 10 first-quarter points from Sasha Vezenkov, but Efes fought back as Shane Larkin scored 14 in the second quarter and it was 41-44 at the break. Evan Fournier took over the third quarter with 13 points, but Efes kept fighting and controlled the final stages to prevail. Larkin led the way with 24 points, while Darius Thompson added 13 and Elijah Bryant scored all his 11 points in the second half. Fournier paced Olympiacos with 20 points, Shaquielle McKissic scored 17 and Vezenkov added 16.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 93-96 FC Barcelona
In the first overtime game of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season, Barcelona pulled out a 94-98 victory of the previously undefeated Crvena Zvezda inside a packed Belgrade Arena on Friday. Both teams now share a league-best 3-1 record after the first double-round week of the season, as there are no more unbeaten teams heading into Round 5. The two teams traded leads throughout the entire four quarter. Zvezda did go up 65-56 late in the third, only for Barcelona to answer with a 1-11 run bridging the third and fourth quarter and going back in front. Zvezda entered the final minute up 82-81, but Kevin Punter, the game's top scorer, hit a three-pointer with 10.4 seconds to go in the fourth, then Yago Dos Santos drove for a layup on the other end to send the game to overtime. In the extra session, Barcelona hit four three-pointers, including two more from Punter, and the one-time All-EuroLeague guard also sealed the deal by stealing the ball five seconds before the end.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 76-69 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Theo Maledon had a night for the ages as he guided ASVEL to a thrilling 76-69 comeback victory at home over Baskonia in Round 4 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. ASVEL improved to 2-2 on the young season, the same record for Baskonia, which was limited to just eight healthy players after having beaten Real Madrid earlier in the week.
Thursday, October 17
ALBA Berlin 71-78 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Fenerbahce bounced back from its disappointing Round 3 home loss to Crvena Zvezda by defeating ALBA 71-78 on the road on Thursday night. After scoring just 57 points against Crvena Zvezda, Fenerbahce drained 10-of-13 three-pointers in the first half and ended up improving to a 3-1 record.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 79-91 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Partizan felt comfortable at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday night, beating Maccabi 79-91 at the Israeli team's temporary home on Thursday night. Sterling Brown netted almost half of his team’s points in the fourth quarter, a period in which Partizan outscored Maccabi 15-25 to clinch its second straight victory and first on the road. Following Partizan's win, both teams now boast a 2-2 record.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 82-85 Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris staged a magnificent fightback for an 82-85 road win at Milan in a EuroLeague Round 4 blockbuster, completing a perfect double-round week in Italy after beating Virtus 68-71 on Tuesday. The Lithuanian side rallied from 64-37 down midway through the third quarter to produce the second-biggest comeback in the competition history. Dovydas Giedraitis netted a game-high 21 points for the visitors, followed by Sylvain Francisco, who racked up 17 points and 6 assists with a superb individual performance.
Real Madrid 90-86 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Real Madrid exacted revenge by overcoming Panathinaikos, 90-86, in a hard-fought repeat of last season’s championship game. Both teams now have a 2-2 record, with the reigning champs losing twice this week. Chus Mateo’s Real took a double-digit lead in less than four minutes, but Panathinaikos gradually battled back and it was 43-38 at halftime. Los Blancos pulled away again after the break, and held on in the final minutes.
FC Bayern Munich 109-107 Paris Basketball
Bayern returned to winning ways in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by edging Paris 108-107 at SAP Garden in Round 4 on Thursday night. Gordie Herbert's squad improved to 2-2 in the standings and remains undefeated at the brand-new SAP Garden, while Tiago Splitter's Paris dropped to 1-3.