Vassilis Spanoulis's team stays in third place in the standings
Mike James reaches historic milestone as Monaco defeats Baskonia, 92-85

On the night that saw Mike James reach 5,000 career points, AS Monaco notched its third straight win in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by beating Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 92-85. Despite leading by as many as 16 points at halftime, Baskonia turned the game around and led 79-80 with 4:11 minutes left, but a strong finish by Monaco – led by Mike James and Nick Calathes – allowed the Monegasque side to grab the win. Monaco is now 16-9 while Baskonia drops to 10-15.
Mike James led all scorers in the game with 19 points – and he reached the 5,000-point mark for his career when he moved to 11 on the night. Alpha Diallo added 15 points, Matthew Strazel and Georgios Papagiannis both netted 12, and Mam Jaiteh scored 10. Nick Calathes also finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. For Baskonia, Trent Forrest had a team-high 15 points, followed by Donta Hall with 13, Chima Moneke and Luka Samanic on 12 each, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Nikos Rogkavopoulos on 10 apiece.
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The fans inside Salle Gaston Medecin were treated to a show in the early going as Petr Cornelie and Papagiannis combined for three big dunks to give Monaco an 8-3 lead. Samanic and then Luwawu-Cabarrot stepped up to help Baskonia tie it at 10-10, and Forrest gave the visitors their first lead at 12-14. Hall reminded the Monaco fans of his talent with an alley-oop to set a 12-16 score, but baskets by Calathes, Papagiannis and Diallo made it 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.
Jaiteh made an instant impact after starting the second quarter, blocking Rogkavopoulos and scoring twice in succession against Hall as Monaco’s run extended to 11-0, ensuring it was 27-18. Baskonia was finding it difficult to keep pace with Monaco, which was showing great energy on defense and moving the ball excellently on offense. Strrazel, Jaiteh and Terry Tarpey gave Monaco its first double-digit lead at 35-23. James then appeared with a sidestep three and a layup, moving to 7 points personal, as Monaco went 15 points ahead at 46-31. Diallo’s three-pointer was the last score of the half, making it 51-35 at the break.
Despite Vassilis Spanoulis stressing the importance of defense with his halftime comments, Baskonia started the second half with a 9-1 to make it a contest once more at 52-44. Diallo’s layup and James’s three, which saw him move to 4,999 career points, gave Monaco a welcome boost at 57-46, then James went 1 for 3 from the line to eventually move to the 5,000-point landmark and set a 58-49 score. A three-point play by Hall inspired Baskonia at 63-57, with Moneke netting four points to make it a one-possession ballgame. Hall then blocked Diallo on one end and had a put-back dunk down the other to tie the game at 63-63. Yet, Strazel’s jumper and fast-break layup gave Monaco a four-point lead, 67-63, entering the final frame.
Strazel kept going in the fourth by draining a corner three, 70-63, but Baskonia was refusing to roll over. Moneke got the friendly roll on a triple and Forrest’s two free throws made it 70-68. When Rogkavopoulos scored a layup to set a 73-70 score, that was followed by two free throws by Hall and a Forrest layup as Baskonia went 73-74 ahead. Donatas Motiejunas’s three restored Monaco’s lead at 76-74, but Baskonia wrestled it back by edging 79-80 in front on a Rogkavopoulos layup, which came after an excellent offensive rebound by Hall. That would prove to be Baskonia’s last lead, though, as Calathes and James took over to guide Monaco to an eventual 92-85 victory.