The French guard led his team with 16 points
Elie Okobo sparked Monaco's huge comeback
AS Monaco trailed 61-50 late in the third quarter of its Round 32 showdown against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, but ended up rallying for a 77-87 victory. What happened?
Monaco had a horrible day from the three-point line. It finished the game making just 3 of 19 three-pointers (15.8% 3FG), while ASVEL buried 12 of 26 three-pointers (46.2% 3FG) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit more shots from downtown (5) than the entire Monaco team.
Okobo, however, buried two in a row which were enough to put Monaco back in track. His back-to-back three-pointers allowed Monaco to get within 61-56 at the end of the third quarter. Until that point, ASVEL had outplayed Monaco with very physical basketball, many plays above the rim and even an extraordinary four-point play by Nando De Colo.
ASVEL still led 66-60 with 8 minutes remaining but Monaco regrouped on defense at the right time, going on a mammoth 5-24 run over the next 7 minutes. ASVEL was forced into 5 turnovers during that run, in which Alpha Diallo stood out. he had 9 of his 15 points in those 7 minutes. Jared Blossomgame had 5, including a go-ahead three-pointer with the game tied at 71-71, while Mike James and Okobo each had 4.
Monaco dominated in the paint, making 30 of 42 two-pointers (71.4% 2FG) and committing just 11 turnovers against ASVEL's 16.
"They have been playing in the last four games with great confidence and made crazy ones," Okobo said after the game. "We stayed locked in. Like Coach said, we are supposed to play the last three [regular season] games like finals to be in the top four and get home-court advantage for the playoffs. We didn't show it the entire game, but when it mattered the most, we did."
"It is always an intense matchup against ASVEL," Diallo added. "I am glad we came out with a win. We have to clean up a little bit more stuff going back home next game. Every game is important right now for seeding."
Monaco finished the regular season with a 10-7 road record. Its last two games are at home, against Zalgiris Kaunas and FC Bayern Munich.