Monaco heavily relied on its backcourt players to take a 1-0 lead in the playoffs
Monaco's backcourt stars led the way past Barca
Article
3 Mins read
AS Monaco made the most of its home-court advantage by opening its best-of-five playoff series against FC Barcelona with a 97-80 victory. Led by its guards, Monaco set a fast pace from the beginning and sealed the win minutes before the final buzzer.
Mike James finally found a way to be effective against Barca. After averaging 13.3 points in his first 18 career games against Barca, James had 23 points in the last regular season game against the club and went for 22 points and 4 assists for a PIR of 19 in Game 1. He was a constant threat on offense, making 5 three-pointers and going one-on-one to hit floaters in the lane. Elie Okobo only missed 3 field goal attempts on his way to 19 points and added 7 assists and 2 steals for a game-high PIR of 26.
"It's all about showing effort. I think we showed great character today. We played hard defensively. Even though they had a few offensive rebounds, which we have to correct for Game 2, we just played as a team, sharing the ball. Everybody impacted tonight," Okobo said. "It's playoff time. We compete. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to go all the way to the Final Four. We will do what it takes to make it happen."
Matthew Strazel and Terry Tarpey were Monaco's X-factors in this game. Nearing the end of his breakout season, Strazel confirmed his potential with a strong performance: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 21. Tarpey guarded anyone from shooting guard to power forward, allowing Coach Spanoulis to surprise Barca with a small-ball lineup around center Daniel Theis. Tarpey tallied 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks to lead his team's defense.
"Terry was very good tonight, just like the other players. He was a star in his role. Having this kind of player is very important for a team, and he gave us a lot of energy. He was ready to play. I put him in the '4' position and he knew all the plays of the team at the '4' position without playing there, not even in practice," Coach Spanoulis said after the game. "It was my instinct to put him there and he knew everything. This shows how concentrated he was and how concentrated he is in basketball."
Game Videos
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Alpha Diallo: 'It's really hard to beat us'
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Monaco Showtime! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Mam Jaiteh: 'If we play like this defensively, we will do good'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Tarpey’s big driving dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:28
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Jaiteh’s poster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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From defense to slam-dunk offense! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Jaiteh’s diving hustle! Motorola Magic Moment
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Diallo’s chasedown block! Motorola Magic Moment
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Parker flushes on Barca fast break! Motorola Magic Moment,
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Tarpey's big block! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Follow the Monaco-Barcelona post-game press conference
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Daniel Theis: 'Matthew Strazel sets the tone for our defense'
- 00:55
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Elie Okobo: 'We showed great character today'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Theis throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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James turns defense into offense! Motorola Magic Moment
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Xavi Pascual, Boniface N'Dong remember 2010 title triumph on The Crossover
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Kevin Punter: 'True testament of us being a team'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/f20bc237-7edd-4cdd-b811-d7153da3cd6a.jpg]()
FC Barcelona-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Willy posterizes Toko! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:56
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Mike James: 'We can celebrate a little bit'
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-AS Monaco | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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The Fantasy Challenge Podcast prepares for the end of the regular season
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The EuroLeague & Friends gang are joined by Nick Calathes for episode 22
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AS Monaco-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Jabari Parker: 'We just wanted it more'
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul-FC Barcelona | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:14
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Hernangomez says no! Motorola Magic Moment
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The Fantasy Challenge Podcast presents: The Barcelona dilemma
- 01:48
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Dario Brizuela: 'Today we woke up with the will to compete with high intensity'
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-FC Barcelona | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:24
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Jaron Blossomgame: 'We played Monaco basketball’
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Olympiacos Piraeus-AS Monaco | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
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Jaiteh’s ferocious finish! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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James feeds Theis for the flush! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:32
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Barca's hustle play! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Barcelona-FC Bayern Munich | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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AS Monaco-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Parker’s perfect pass sets up Satoransky slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:20
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Okobo with a classy jumper to close the half! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:49
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Justin Anderson: 'This team is trending in the right direction'
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FC Barcelona-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:29
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Punter-to-Metu alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:45
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Mike James: 'We played with more energy than we have been'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/9682cc5e-edb7-448f-81f3-5ab310c55399.jpg]()
AS Monaco-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Diallo with a clutch dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:24
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Theis with a monster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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What a block from Blossomgame! Motorola Magic Moment:
- 00:34
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Tomas Satoransky: 'It's a mistake to look at the standings'
"I just wanted to help the team. I was in a good position to help the team tonight," Tarpey said. "I think it was possibly a statement victory. We really did well protecting our home court. Our fans came out and really pushed us to give us the extra 110% that we needed. But again, we have to watch the film tomorrow, see what we did good, what we did wrong, and try to recreate the same thing in two days."
Monaco hosts Game 2 at Salle Gaston Medicin on Thursday, April 25 at 19:00 CEST.