He finished with a season-high 28 points in victory over Maccabi
Markus Howard's return-to-form shooting lifted Baskonia
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 16 of 34
Group Regular Season
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So far, it’s been a down year for the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner. Not only is Markus Howard’s scoring down from the 19.5 points per game he averaged last season for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, but his shooting has suffered too.
Howard entered Tuesday night’s showdown with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv averaging just 11.5 points per game and in a shooting rut, having made just 5 of 26 threes in his last two games. He put all of those struggles to rest in Belgrade against Maccabi with a season-high 28 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting to lead his team to an 85-95 victory.
He set the tone early with 3 three-pointers in the first quarter, including one to cap a 0-10 run to finish the period as Baskonia took the lead for good. By halftime, Howard was up to 16 points with his only missed shot coming from the foul line!
Howard’s fine shooting was one of the reasons that head coach Pablo Laso was able to call the first half "probably our best 20 minutes offensively of the year."
For Howard, however, the credit goes elsewhere.
"It was a total team effort. We had a lot of guys step up and we played extremely hard," he said. "I thought our defense in the second half was a lot better. Khalifa, Donta, Chima all making plays on the defensive end, getting blocks. Getting rebounds that led to fastbreaks, so we are playing aggressive. We are playing active in the passing lanes. We are very special. We wanted to feel our fastbreak and we were able to do so and that helped us get the win."
When asked about what helped him to have a big game, Howard answered: "Being aggressive, but also just my teammates looking for me and relaying to me the confidence I need to have in myself. It’s been a tough stretch here for myself, but God’s been good through it all and I am fortunate to have the organization that I’m a part of; Baskonia’s been excellent in giving me support from the beginning."
Game Videos
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/qf9io_7AvuE/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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Nice alley-oop from Diop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:38
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Chima Moneke: 'This is our best win of the season'
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/K3myS2EETAk/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 16 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/3e605d01-c987-41b7-a423-6450717b937d.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A211%3A30]()
Roman Sorkin drives for a dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Donta Hall makes creative bucket! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/9784b387-7c1e-4d89-b6a0-645268f0b32d.jpg]()
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/e8fe54fd-5ed5-4bc3-9601-1f72f78a8a82.jpg]()
FC Bayern Munich-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/70d0a86d-5502-4469-8b4d-ca4b50a1ffee.jpg?crop=1214%3A683%3Anowe%3A71%3A57]()
Hall rises for spectacular swat! Motorola Magic Moment,
- 00:08
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/74a1fafb-0407-49c4-b91d-808232b0c5a7.jpg?crop=1138%3A640%3Anowe%3A13%3A35]()
Hoard dunks off a Blatt alley-oop dish! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/7b61257e-b9ee-44d2-91d4-46d0e1c150a4.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A135%3A80]()
Hall says give me that! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:31
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Devin Booker: 'We had the energy from the fans'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/cbc6f4e4-5b4f-4a8e-b1dc-416b50232a07.jpg]()
FC Bayern Munich-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/f522effa-1bd1-4da3-a15d-5ea4d723f7f8.jpg]()
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-FC Barcelona | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Moneke with the chasedown block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Gabriel’s block on Hernangomez! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:36
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Donta Hall: 'We had to bring our hard hats too'
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Paris Basketball | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:13
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Moneke sends Hall flying for alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Donta Hall swats it away! Motorola Magic Moment
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ALBA Berlin-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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DeJulius hits a buzzer-beater! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Hoard's reverse alley-oop dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:14
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Hoard with the rejection! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Moneke’s block on Milutinov! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/ea535f1b-c431-4020-82b6-877fb4f8579f.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A135%3A38]()
Forrest rejects Fournier! Motorola Magic Moment
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz–AS Monaco | RS Round 10 highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:21
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Moneke throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv–Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 10 highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:13
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/31e6c208-72dd-42db-9895-85ddf014dd37.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A26%3A21]()
Roman Sorkin blocks Fournier! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/74e3ce34-aaf0-4529-89b5-c6b74761e3cf.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A270%3A152]()
Gabriel rejects Walkup! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
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Saben Lee explodes to the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/56072d45-57d4-4b71-b522-2c2c9a9d7f2c.jpg?crop=615%3A346%3Anowe%3A441%3A245]()
What a block by Wenyen Gabriel! Motorola Magic Moment
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/31b1b3bf-f957-4bae-9fac-d4480dd4fdfc.jpg]()
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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Great dunk on the alley-oop by Sorkin! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/173f3bb5-7fc7-4bb6-98a6-87f4d7ff22f3.jpg]()
Howard with the sweet dish! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6ba17594-c852-416a-9cdd-d187cec4b294.jpg]()
Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/d57e6268-cfec-409c-b4fe-b7e564ca5a29.jpg]()
FC Barcelona-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:13
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/360da801-98c7-4a19-a140-c5eaddf94bfd.png?crop=750%3A422%3Anowe%3A0%3A115]()
Gabriel with a audacious alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/c3c58d61-e07c-4621-a147-83806e881bb7.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A95%3A57]()
Moneke's huge alley-oop slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/34dd9bee-ee9b-420c-b1d2-5dcec67fa32a.jpg?crop=810%3A456%3Anowe%3A40%3A0]()
Hall stops Nunez! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/43f9b422-5463-4c6d-b108-7f6c2a023fe4.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A132%3A41]()
Hall's alley-oop dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/2d480d1d-e06e-4dbe-be9f-960a3b855044.jpg?crop=1001%3A563%3Anowe%3A94%3A15]()
Monster dunk by Rivero! Motorola Magic Moment
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Paris Basketball-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
One of those supporting Howard has been Coach Laso, who spoke glowingly of him in the post-game press conference.
"I think he was very good overall. He did a great job on defense. He understood the game from the beginning and for sure he made shots. So when people say about Markus, 'Okay, he’s not hitting shots,' that doesn’t make me worry. Because I know that he will come back," Laso said.
"He’s a shooter. He’s a scorer. He played a very solid game in the first half, but there was always the feeling that he’s a guy to go to in the right moments and the team understood that. I think we played very solid and Markus for sure gave us that push to get a victory tonight."
As they look onward to a difficult road tilt against defending champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 17 later this week, Baskonia knows it will be a much more dangerous competitor if Howard continued shooting and scoring the way he did on Tuesday.