The home team took a big step toward sealing a playoff berth and home-court advantage
Mike James shined to lift Monaco over Fenerbahce
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 30 of 34
Group Regular Season
w
l
w
l
l
l
w
w
w
l
AS Monaco got the better of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in a rip-roaring Rivalry Series matchup on Thursday, claiming a 91-82 victory after the home team’s talismanic playmaker Mike James served up a vintage performance worthy of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time top scorer.
James poured a season-high 29 points plus 6 assists as Monaco forced the competition’s in-form team into submission. Fenerbahce had arrived at the principality with a 10-2 record in its previous 12 games, aspiring to edge closer to a top-six finish.
Instead, the race for playoff spots is now wide open as fourth-placed Monaco improved to 18-12 while second-placed Fenerbahce dropped to 20-10 in a fiercely competitive home straight of the regular season.
Monaco has been in patchy form over the last 10 games, winning five and losing as many, but coach Vassilis Spanoulis's charges produced one of their best performances of the season when the chips were down after a fired-up James led the charge against Fenerbahce.
“We played with a bit more energy than we have been recently,” the 34-year-old point guard said. “It’s getting down to the tough part of the season as every game matters now even more and we’re fighting for our playoff lives.
“Fenerbahce is a team with Final Four ambitions and they’ve been one of the best teams in the league so far this season, so that was a very good win,” he added.
Coach Spanoulis heaped praise on the entire roster, singling out forward Alpha Diallo who came up with big plays in crunch time as he racked up a crucial offensive board which in turn facilitated a clutch three from James.
Spanoulis also stressed that ramping up on defense was the key after Fenerbahce won the opening quarter 26-28, when the Turkish team took advantage of a somewhat lazy approach by Monaco.
“We didn’t start well and our defense was not on the required level in the first quarter, but we hustled and fought and Alpha made some big plays in the end,” Spanoulis said.
“All the guys contributed and that’s the only way to beat a great team like Fenerbahce. Today it was Mike, next time it’s going to be somebody else. Everyone played great defense after the first quarter and it’s not just about the points. We have had lots of ups and downs and we just have to be more consistent,” the Greek tactician highlighted.
German big man Daniel Theis has turned out to be a valuable addition since he joined Monaco last month after an eight-year stint in the NBA, playing an immense part against Fenerbahce as he registered 15 points and 7 boards.
“We never stopped playing as a team,” said Theis. “We played physical defense and we got big stops in the end. We’ve got to play every game like this from the first minute, as we made a slow start tonight and conceded 28 points in the first quarter.”
Fenerbahce head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius conceded that his team was below par in a game he saw as an acid test for what the Turkish side might face in the business end of the competition.
“Our attention to detail and the game plan was not good,” Jasikevicius conceded. “This was a good test of our credentials for the playoffs, hopefully because we’re not there yet. We fought until the end, but we made way too many mistakes for this type of game.”
In Round 31, Fenerbahce is at home to Paris Basketball while Monaco entertains Zalgiris Kaunas.