Daniel Theis and Mike James led the Roca Team to a convincing victory
Monaco downs Barcelona in Game 1, 97-80

AS Monaco struck first in its best-of-five series with FC Barcelona by grabbing a 97-80 victory in Game 1 of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs at Salle Gaston Medecin on Tuesday night. Monaco has a 1-0 lead in the series and hosts Game 2 on Thursday.
Mike James and Daniel Theis led the winners with 22 points apiece. Elie Okobo added 19, Matthew Strazel had 13 while Mam Jaiteh got 10 for Monaco. Kevin Punter led Barca with 16 points. Dario Brizuela and Youssoupha Fall each added 13 for the guests. Fall also grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double.
Game Videos
Punter got Barca going with a three-pointer, then he erased Mike James's triple with an off-balance shot from beyond the arc. Theis and Fall traded layups before James's second three-pointer tied it at 8-8. Punter insisted from downtown and Justin Anderson's wild three-point play boosted the visitors' lead to 8-14. Alpha Diallo joined the three-point shootout. Anderson made a highly-contested jumper before Okobo drew Monaco within 13-16. After Theis struck from beyond the arc, Jan Vesely found his first points and Brizuela's driving layup established a 16-20 Barca lead. Vesely kept pushing and Alex Abrines improved on Jaiteh's put-back layup with a triple. Terry Tarpey and Okobo got Monaco within 21-25 after 10 minutes.
Okobo made a three-pointer early in the second quarter and Jaiteh's jump hook gave Monaco its first lead, 26-25. After Abrines sank free throws, Monaco took control. Strazel started a run from the foul line and Okobo struck again from beyond the arc. Jaron Blossomgame scored around the basket and got help from Theis to make it a double-digit game, 37-27. Okobo's fast-break dunk continued a 15-0 run that Theis capped with free throws, 41-27. Fall rescued Barca with a three-point play and Brizuela added a three-pointer in transition that prompted Monaco to stop the game at 41-33. Fall scored again and Punter got Barca even closer, 42-37. Jaiteh downed a jump hook, which Brizuela bettered with a three-pointer. Fall's put-back layup fixed the halftime score at 44-42.
Brizuela helped Barca regain the lead, 44-45, immediately after the break. Okobo banked in a floater that James followed with an off-balance triple, which gave Monaco fresh air at 49-45. Okobo sank a step-back jumper that Theis followed with a three-pointer. James added a floater before Tarpey's fast-break slam caused Barca to call timeout at 56-47 after a 14-2 run. Jabari Parker scored in the paint and erased Theis's floater with a turnaround jumper. Tomas Satoransky stepped up with a backdoor layup that Theis improved on with consecutive dunks for a 64-53 Monaco lead. Strazel ignited the crowd with a huge three-point play and fed Jaiteh for a fast-break dunk that broke the game open, 69-55. James struck twice from beyond the arc to boost the hosts' lead to 76-59 after three quarters.
Anderson made a layup in transition early in the fourth quarter. Strazel matched that with a layup off a steal, which Jaiteh followed with a close basket for an 80-61 Monaco lead. James stepped up with a one-handed floater in the lane before Joel Parra and Fall brought Barca a bit closer, 82-68, with over 6 minutes left. After James scored again in penetration, Brizuela and Strazel exchanged three-pointers before Okobo's backdoor layup sealed the outcome, 90-71, midway through the fourth quarter. Barca kept trying, but eventually it waved the white flag as it chose to rest its best players for Game 2, giving the Monaco fans plenty of time to celebrate a well-deserved win.