Elie Okobo led five AS Monaco scorers in double figures with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists as his team routed Paris Basketball 59-88 to take a 2-1 lead in the French League finals on Sunday night. The best-of-five series will continue with Game 4 in the French capital on Wednesday. A Monaco victory will give it the club’s second straight championship. Mike James added 14 points for the winners, Loyd and Alpha Diallo scored 12 apiece and Matthew Strazel 11. Nadir Hifi led Paris with 15 points and Justin Simon netted 10 in defeat.
Monaco takes 2-1 lead in French finals
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![Monaco takes 2-1 lead in French finals](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/af57c1fe-d59d-4fc3-bceb-831ea821e50c.jpg?crop=2037%3A1146%3Anowe%3A542%3A214)
Leon Kratzer and Simon helped Paris to an early 7-4 lead, but Okobo heated up to score 7 points in a 0-11 Monaco run to turn the table and lead 11-21. A four-point play by Strazel extended the visitors’ lead to 14-28 after 10 minutes. The margin reached 17 on a Petr Cornelie dunk before Tyson Ward and Hifi trimmed the gap to 33-43. A free throw by Mam Jaiteh gave Monaco a 35-46 lead at halftime.
Paris was held without a basket in the first 5 minutes of the second half, while Loyd heated up from deep to extend the Monaco lead to 37-54. A triple by Okobo made it 45-64 at the end of the third quarter. Strazel made it a 20-point game with a three early in the fourth and Paris never made a serious run after that.