The 30-year-old was one of several players to step up at Buesa Arena in Round 10.
Jaron Blossomgame highlighted Monaco’s team ethic
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It was the Mike James show at Buesa Arena on Friday night, with one of the most explosive talents in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history piling on 28 points, 5 assists and 8 rebounds to secure a 75-77 victory for AS Monaco against his first club in the competition, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Nearly, but not really. Yes, all those facts are correct, but they do not even begin to tell the full story of this thrilling contest.
True, you could take a glance at the stats sheet and assume that nobody else had really made much of a contribution to Monaco’s victory, which came without Jordan Loyd, with only one other player – Alpha Diallo with 13 points – reaching double digits in scoring. James led his team in two-pointers, three-pointers, free throws, assists and rebounds... so he was the only factor in the win, right?
Wrong.
Basketball is not that simple, and neither was Friday’s game at Buesa Arena as Baskonia fought with everything it had to extend its four-game winning streak.
Monaco’s depth paid dividends
Subduing the hosts meant subduing its most important players, and that was done with diligence firstly by Diallo, who added 2 assists and 2 blocked shots to his 13 points with a determined defensive effort on Markus Howard, making Baskonia’s most potent threat work extremely hard for his 18 points and preventing him from dishing any assists.
Then there was John Brown, who had the task of limiting his former teammate Chima Moneke and achieved that aim to perfection. Moneke has season averages of 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 21 PIR. On Friday, though, the rash-like presence of Brown held those numbers to just 4 points, 4 rebounds and a 0 PIR as the man who has become Baskonia’s emotional leader was unable to impose himself.
The task of restricting the league’s leading rebounder, Tadas Sedekerskis, fell to... well, everyone. Sedekerskis did manage 7 boards, but that was below his season average of 9.3 and was also his second-lowest tally of the season, while Monaco as a whole outrebounded Baskonia 39 to 36. Nine different Monaco players took rebounds, led by James and Brown (8 apiece), Jaron Blossomgame (6) and Elie Okobo (4).
Blossomgame became the hero
Ah, yes, Blossomgame. No discussion of Monaco’s victory at Buesa Arena would be complete without mention of the 30-year-old forward, who might have his team’s longest name but certainly not the biggest. On Friday, though, he came up with the biggest two plays in crunch time.
Firstly, he rescued Monaco from its most difficult period of the game. After leading by 11 points with 7 minutes remaining, the Roca Team then went 5 minutes without a score, seeing Baskonia reel off 8 unanswered points to make it a one-possession game, 70-73. That was Blossomgame’s cue to change the momentum, grabbing a steal and racing all the way to unload a full-speed dunk.
And that wasn’t, of course, his last of the night. As you have no doubt seen by now, probably several times, with the game tied and 6 seconds left on the clock, Monaco went for the win with a three-point shot from James. He was off target, but Blossomgame definitely wasn’t as he leapt for an unstoppable put-back slam, winning the game in the most spectacular fashion with just 2 seconds left.
So, yes, Mike James was a star for Monaco on Friday. But he wasn’t the only one.