ASVEL won three quarters against Real but lost the game: what happened?


Real's strong first quarter makes the difference 

Real Madrid downed LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 81-70 at home in Round 30. It managed to get a quick lead, threatening several club records in the process, and keep a safe margin all the way until the final buzzer.

Real found an early advantage in the paint and went for it right away. [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) dunked twice, drew a couple of shooting fouls and made all 4 attempts, and added a left-handed jump hook and a floater for 12 points in a 15-0 opening run. It was Real's second-best start ever in a EuroLeague game. Los Blancos had a 17-0 run against Anadolu Efes Istanbul to start Game 4 of the 2021 playoffs, which turned into an 82-76 victory.

Tavares had a PIR of 19 when he went to the bench with more than 3 minutes left in the first quarter. Only two players this season have had a higher first-quarter PIR: [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens with 24 against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 16 and Olympiacos Piraeus forward [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) with 20 against Paris Basketball in Round 25.

Real Madrid center Walter Tavares had 14 points in the opening seven minutes of his team's Round 30 game against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Tavares's strong start against ASVEL

Real was far from done, as many players kept contributing in the opening 10 minutes. [Andres Feliz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/andres-feliz/011247/) buried a three-pointer and [Sergio Llull](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sergio-llull/tgb/) struck twice from downtown. At the end of the first quarter, Real led ASVEL 32-10. That 22-point first-quarter difference is the second-biggest in club history. The record came on January 10, 2002, when Real built a 37-11 lead against Zadar after 10 minutes. Olympiacos Piraeus holds the EuroLeague record with a 35-8 first quarter against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on November 19, 2021.

*Los Blancos* made 6 of 9 two-pointers, 4 of 7 three-pointers and 8 of 11 free throws, outrebounded ASVEL 10-6 and forced the visitors into 8 turnovers. Real only had 1 turnover and dished 7 assists. The teams' PIR at that moment said it all: Real had a first-quarter PIR of 49 and ASVEL a PIR of -3.

ASVEL went on to win the next three quarters (20-24, 16-19, 13-17) but Real did a good job to stay away from trouble until the final buzzer. In less than 19 minutes, Tavares had 23 points on 9-of-12 two-point shooting and 5-of-5 on free throws, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 28. Llull had 12 points and finished the game in style with a buzzer-beating, 10-meter three-pointers in the next-to-last minute.

Game Videos

"We have to win every game and now we have four finals \[ahead of us\]. We are going to try to play our best to try to win all the games in front of us. That's the main goal for us: to be in the playoffs and reach the Final Four," Tavares said after the game. "All Real players have the pressure of being on the big stage every year. We are super motivated to reach that level and have a responsibility to win, because Real Madrid means winning."

"We had a very good first quarter and got a very big lead. And then, of course, they tried to come back. They are a very good team, especially their backcourt players, shooting from outside. We lost some rebounds and were a little bit confused with their alternative defenses," Real head coach [Chus Mateo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/real-madrid/mad/mateo-chus?season=E2024) said. "We stopped our offense a little bit but anyway, we are happy because we needed to win this game, and we have four more games to go."

Half of those four games will be played in Serbia, as Real faces Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 32 and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 34. It also has games against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 31 and Paris Basketball in Round 33.

Game News

Real Madrid's strong first quarter made the difference against ASVEL

Real Madrid v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2025-03-20T19:45:00.000Z)

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz produced an offensive whirlwind to thrash FC Bayern Munich, 112-89, keeping the Spanish team’s top ten hopes alive

Baskonia blasts Bayern, 112-89

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz produced an offensive whirlwind to thrash FC Bayern Munich, 112-89, keeping the Spanish team’s top ten hopes alive. Baskonia improves to 13-17, while Bayern drops to 17-13.

Baskonia led for most of a high-scoring first half, which ended 50-48, and accelerated its scoring pace after the break to seal a big win. Markus Howard led the way with 27 points, as Trent Forrest recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Donta Hall also scored 14, Nikos Rogkavopoulos scored 13 and Luka Samanic had 12. Shabazz Napier paced Bayern with 15 points, while Carsen Edwards and Johannes Voigtmann both scored 13.

The early scoring was evenly exchanged as Elias Harris netted 4 points while Luwawu-Cabarrot and Vladimir Lucic traded mid-range jumpers. Harris stayed hot with another inside score for a 9-10 lead, but Luwawu-Cabarrot hit from deep and Howard took over with 8 consecutive points including a triple and a three-point play. Forrest completed a 12-0 run with a pair of baskets, before Napier ended Bayern’s three-minute scoring drought. Niels Giffey continued pulling the visitors back with a triple, making it 25-21 after ten minutes.

The second quarter started with Baskonia hitting a flurry of three-pointers as Luwawu-Cabarrot, Howard and Ognjen Jaramaz struck for a 37-27 lead. But Bayern soon responded with a pair of triples from Giffey, before Rogkavopoulos and Voigtmann jointed the three-point party. The long-range fun continued through Weiler-Babb and Edwards to briefly put Bayern ahead, but Samanic scored the last 5 points of the half to make it 50-48.

Voigtmann hit a triple early in the third, but Baskonia took over as Tadas Sedekerskis scored twice and Luwawu-Cabarrot and Howard struck from long-range. Sedekerskis completed a 14-0 run for a 66-51 lead, before Weiler-Babb rescued Bayern from deep. Luwawu-Cabarrot continued the evening’s theme with his fourth triple, which was repeated by Napier and Howard. Edwards and Weiler-Babb pulled Bayern closer with threes but 4 points from Hall and Forrest’s layup kept the host comfortable, before Andreas Obst and Forrest traded threes to make it 83-71.

Rogkavopoulos and Obst added more deep strikes to start the fourth, before Hall, Rogkavopoulos and Samanic all struck inside for a 92-76 lead. Two more scores from Hall completed a 10-0 run to further deflate Bayern, and Howard’s fifth triple took Baskonia into triple figures. Howard and Rogkavopoulos again scored from long-range, and the host rounded off a perfect night by giving Joseba Querejeta – son of the club president – his EuroLeague debut.

The Spanish side stayed in the hunt for postseason action with an offensive exhibition

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v FC Bayern Munich (2025-03-20T19:30:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv may not make the postseason but the league’s hottest team at the moment will have an impact on which teams finish where in the fight for the EuroLeague Playoffs and the Play-In Showdown

Maccabi's sad good run came late, but team will impact playoff races

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv may not make the postseason but the league’s hottest team at the moment will have an impact on which teams finish where in the fight for the EuroLeague Playoffs and the Play-In Showdown.

Maccabi has not lost since the national team break last month as it played some tough defense in beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 77-67 to extend its winning streak to a league-high four games.

“It’s a little sad that we started to play like this at the end of the regular season. But everybody is enjoying themselves, everybody is happy. This is most important,” said Maccabi point guard Rokas Jokubaitis, who poured in a game-high 19 points against Virtus.

Maccabi lost seven of its last eight games before the FIBA window to fall to 6-20. But since the time off, Coach Oded Kattash’s team has also picked up home wins over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and AS Monaco and won at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

“We are beating good teams. And four in a row is a big number in the EuroLeague. Now we are playing for pride and I think we are doing an amazing job. All the credit to the team,” added Jokubaitis, referring to wins over Fenerbahce and Monaco - both of whom are fighting for spots for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

And Maccabi’s tough stretch continues over its final four games: hosting Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, playing at Anadolu Efes Istanbul; welcoming FC Bayern Munich and finishing the season at standings leader Olympiacos Piraeus. Panathinaikos is third in the standings, Bayern is ranked sixth and Efes is right on the edge of the play-in race.

All the more impressive about Maccabi’s run is the team is doing it without some major inside players. Jaylen Hoard has been out since Round 23, Jasiel Rivero has missed the last two games and Levi Randolph was out against Virtus after averaging 17.3 points in the last three wins.

Maccabi did a good job taking advantage of the extra time without games during the break to work on getting the team on the same page. There has been quite a lot of movement on the roster, with Wenyen Gabriel,  Alpha Kaba, Jordan Loyd, Saben Lee and David DeJulius all spending short amounts of time with the club before leaving. Kattash also has had to work into the team new additions Marial Shayok, Trevion Williams and most recently Jimmy Clark during the break.

“We have a new team. We missed a lot of important pieces at the beginning. We are happy that we are making progress and playing better each game. We want to keep doing it,” added Roman Sorkin, who chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds in the game.

With only pride to play for and no pressure, Maccabi is playing its best basketball of the season - exactly the wrong time for its final four opponents.

Maccabi’s final four games come against teams fighting for the postseason 

Maccabi's sad good run came late, but team will impact playoff race

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2025-03-20T19:15:00.000Z)

Don’t look now but Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv has the longest active winning streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 77-67 for its fourth straight victory

Maccabi remains hot, downs Virtus for 4th straight win

Don’t look now but Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv has the longest active winning streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 77-67 for its fourth straight victory. With Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade snapping table-topper Olympiacos Piraeus’ six-game roll, Maccabi is now the hottest team though the Israeli champion has already been eliminated from postseason contention with a 10-20 record.

Despite missing Levi Randolph, Jaylen Hoard and Jasiel Rivero, Maccabi took control of the game with a 32-8 run spanning the middle two quarters. Rokas Jokubaitis led the way with 19 points, Jimmy Clark scored 14 points, Roman Sorkin had 12 and Trevion Williams finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Virtus continued its freefall with an eighth straight loss for a 7-23 record. Achille Polonara was Virtus’s leading scorer with 15 points, Will Clyburn scored 13 points with 8 rebounds and 5 steals in his return and Ante Zizic added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Virtus head coach Dusko Ivanovic had a welcome return to his starting line-up as Clyburn was playing his first game since Round 19 at the start of January. Maccabi had its troubles offensively to start the game, hitting just 1 of 5 shots and committing 2 turnovers in the first 4 minutes as Virtus jumped ahead to a 2-12 lead with Zizic scoring twice. Maccabi picked up its defense and got back into the game with Jokubaitis and John DiBartolomeo making triples in an 11-2 run over 4 minutes to get within 13-14. Still, Virtus was up 15-17 after 10 minutes.

Two Matt Morgan scores extended the Virtus cushion to 17-25 early in the second frame. Maccabi once again mounted a comeback and this time with 3 triples and Jokubaitis scoring 7 points in a 19-6 run to move ahead 36-31. And the hosts went into the break ahead 42-33.

Maccabi scored the first 7 points of the second half as the advantage grew to 49-33. Virtus needed more than 3 minutes to finally score and temporarily cut the gap to 10 points at 51-41. But Maccabi put the game out of reach with an 11-0 run for a 65-43 advantage, which was 65-45 after 30 minutes.

Maccabi remained in control and pushed the lead to 71-47 with less than 7 minutes to play. Virtus was not ready to give up the game and put together multiple stops for a 2-14 run to make it 73-61 with just more than 2 minutes left. A Jokubaitis jumper and Clark reverse layup finished off the game.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv has not lost since the national team break

Los Blancos led from start to finish to grab its 16th victory. 


Tavares leads Real past ASVEL, 81-70! 

Real Madrid grabbed its third consecutive home victory by downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 81-70 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Real improved to 16-14 in the standings while ASVEL dropped to 11-19 with its seventh straight loss.

Walter Tavares led the winners with 23 points. Sergio Llull added 12 while Dzanan Musa had 10 for Real. Theo Maledon paced ASVEL with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Paris Less added 15 points for the visitors.

Real found an early go-to guy in Tavares, who dunked twice and added a jump hook and a floater in a 15-0 opening run that Musa capped with a bomb from downtown. David Lighty rescued ASVEL with a theee-pointer, which Joffrey Lauvergne followed with a fastbreak slam. Nando De Colo found his first points but an unstoppable Tavares got help from Mario Hezonja and Andres Feliz to boost the hosts' lead to 22-8. Feliz and Llull each struck from beyond the arc to make it a 20-point game. Llull bettered Neal Sako's layup with a three-pointer that fixed the score at 32-10 after 10 minutes.

Feliz hit another three-pointer early in the second quarter. Maledon stepped up with 5 quick points to bring ASVEL within 37-15. Hezonja took over with a backdoor layup and Fernando scored again, but ASVEL was not done. Lauvergne took over with a fastbreak slam, Lighty hit a step-back jumper and an outstanding Maledon brought his team within 41-24. Maledon followed a triple with a fastbreak layup that prompted Real to call timeout at 42-29. Tavares returned to the game and banked in a close shot. Alberto Abalde sank a three-pointer and Musa's driving layup established a 49-32 Real lead. Tavares took over with a three-point play to boost the hosts' advantage to 52-34 at halftime.

Maledon took over with a three-point play soon after the break. Tavares scored around the basket and Lauvergne matched that with a jump hook in transition before Musa restored a 58-39 Real margin. Abalde took over with a put-back layup which a red-hot Musa followed with a fastbreak basket that broke the game open, 62-39. Maledon kept pacing ASVEL and got help from Ben Bentil and Paris Lee to bring the visitors within 63-46. Feliz stepped up with a follow-up layup and Lee and Gabriel Deck traded three-pointers. Andre Roberson's layup drew ASVEL closer, 68-51. Edwin Jackson made it 68-53 at the end of the third quarter. 

Bentil scored around the basket early in the fourth quarter. Hezonja matched that with a put-back layup right after Hugo Gonzalez's big block on Shaquille Harrison. Jackson struck from downtown before Maledon's riving layup brought ASVEL within 70-60 with 6 minutes left. Maledon soon made it a single-digit game, 71-63, with over 4 minutes remaining. Hezonja buried a three-pointer and Llull added a driving layup to make ASVEL call timeout at 76-63. Lee sank a three-pointer, Tavares answered with a layup before Llull's 10-meter "mandarina" sealed the outcome down the stretch. 

'Los Blancos' led from start to finish to climb in the standings


Walter Tavares leads Real Madrid past ASVEL, 81-70

All odds were against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, but it held the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s second-best offense to just 8 points in the first quarter and a home season-low 73 points after 40 minutes.

Crvena Zvezda overcame frontcourt absences to grab morale-boosting win

All odds were against [Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade/roster/red/?season=2024-25) on Thursday evening. The Serbian team traveled to Greece without their three bigs, [Joel Bolomboy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/joel-bolomboy-out-3-6-weeks-with-ankle-sprain/), [Filip Petrusev](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/filip-petrusev/011194/) and [Luka Mitrovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/luka-mitrovic/002553/), with the former two also being their standout players this season. Zvezda headed into the game on the back of a three-game losing streak against an [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/roster/oly/?season=2024-25) side that had won 13 of its previous 14 games.

Yet, when the 10 starters stepped onto the floor, the visitors demonstrated that none of this really mattered. Zvezda held the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s second-best offense (87.4 ppg. before Thursday's game) to just 8 points in the first quarter and a home season-low 73 points after 40 minutes.

Ioannis Sfairopoulos was forced to deploy small-ball lineups that stretched the floor and confused Olympiacos. The visitors fired on all cylinders, having gone 13 of 26 from deep and out-Olympiacos’ed the hosts by recording 24 assists on 27 made field goals. More impressively, despite the major frontcourt absences they protected the boards, grabbing 33 rebounds – just 1 fewer than Olympiacos.

“When we come out and are focused for 40 minutes, we can compete with anybody,” [Codi Miller-McIntyre](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/codi-miller-mcintyre/009048/), who bagged a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards, told EuroLeague TV. “We’ve shown that multiple times during the season. We had a bad stretch these last few games, but it’s normal, it’s a long season. Many people probably didn’t believe that we could come out and win that game.”

Miller-McIntyre was not the only Zvezda player to step up big. Despite averaging fewer than 5 points per game in less than 15 minutes on the floor this season, [Rokas Giedraitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rokas-giedraitis/006436/) exploded for a season-high 20 points, having gone 6-for-7 from deep in a season-high 32:41 minutes. He also recorded 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in one of his finest displays in a Zvezda jersey.

Rokas Giedraitis made 6 threes against Olympiacos

Giedraitis was assisted by an almost-perfect [Dejan Davidovac](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/dejan-davidovac/007960/), who went 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line – all 4 free throws netted in the closing stages. Another player who came to the fore was [Isaiah Canaan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/isaiah-canaan/010612/), who scored 12 second-half points against his former team.

“We played against the best team in Europe so far,” Sfairopoulos said in the post-game press conference. “We had all these problems with the centers. But all the players gave their maximum to cover these absences.”

Three of Zvezda’s last four games, including the next three, are set to be played on home soil. Injury issues may not ease ahead of the upcoming double-round week, but as Miller-McIntyre stressed after that huge win in Greece, a focused Zvezda side can beat anybody.

Sfairopoulos’s men traveled to Greece without Joel Bolomboy, Filip Petrusev and Luka Mitrovic

Olympiacos Piraeus v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2025-03-20T18:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco improved to 18-12 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season and boosted its hopes of a top-four finish after an impressive 91-82 home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, on the back of a season-high 29 points from pack leader Mike James.

Monaco sinks Fenerbahce, 91-82, powered by Mike James 

AS Monaco improved to 18-12 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season and boosted its hopes of a top-four finish after an impressive 91-82 home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, on the back of a season-high 29 points from pack leader Mike James.

Elie Okobo chipped in with 16 points, Daniel Theis racked up 15 points and 7 boards while Jordan Loyd added 13 points for the home team, which prevailed despite losing the battle of the boards 32-41 as it forced 17 turnovers from Fenerbahce.

The visitors, who only managed 12 assists, were paced by Errick McCollum on 24 points, as Marko Guduric netted 15 and Tarik Biberovic scored 10 for the Turkish outfit. The result also means that Fenerbahce dropped to 20-10 and still has work to do to secure an automatic playoff spot.

James hit top gear right from the start, netting 11 first-quarter points as the opening period produced a see-saw battle in which the lead changed hands several times before Fenerbahce nosed ahead 26-28 in a high-scoring start.

In contrast, the second quarter produced a rugged and physical battle with both sides ramping up on defense and making it difficult for each other to get open looks. Still, James hit yet another three and Okobo was outstanding from mid-range as the duo enabled Fenerbahce to lead 47-43 at halftime.

The trend continued in the third as Fenerbahce, driven by the effervescent McCollum, played catchup but Monaco was able to stay ahead in no small part to Theis, whose wealth of experience was everywhere to be seen in his movement and execution of close-range layups. Okobo also sank a pair of tough mid-range jumpers off the dribble, enabling the home team to head into the final 10 minutes 63-58 ahead. 

Monaco pulled away to 67-58 early in the fourth but Fenerbahce refused to lie down and the visiting team was able to close the gap to 76-75 ahead of the home stretch, paving the way for what looked like a dramatic climax in the making. James would have none of that, though, as he sank a pair of clutch triples with Monaco carving out a decisive 85-78 lead in the closing stages.

Fenerbahce fought hard to force a final twist but the writing was on the wall for the Turkish side, which made too many simple mistakes when the chips were down.  

The French side stopped its Turkish rival from sealing a top-six berth with games to spare 

AS Monaco v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-03-20T18:00:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade put an end to its three-game losing slide by defeating Olympiacos Piraeus 73-81 at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday in Round 30 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Center-less Crvena Zvezda stuns Olympiacos, 73-81

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade put an end to its three-game losing slide by defeating Olympiacos Piraeus 73-81 at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. The visitors shared the ball well on offense and looked solid on the other end, leading from start to finish to get back to winning ways. Zvezda improved its record to 17-13, while Olympiacos remains atop the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague table despite dropping to 22-8.

Rokas Giedraitis led all scorers with 20 points, having gone 6-for-7 from deep. Codi Miller-McIntyre recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, with Dejan Davidovac and Isaiah Canaan scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Sasha Vezenkov paced Olympiacos with 19 points and Shaquielle McKissic netted 14.

Davidovac got Zvezda going with a three-pointer and Miller-McIntyre added a floater for a 0-5 lead. Moustapha Fall stepped up with a layup that Nemanja Nedovic erased with a fastbreak basket. Davidovac's wide-open layup saw Olympiacos call timeout at 2-9. Miller-McIntyre followed a driving layup with a bomb from downtown and soon added an acrobatic three-point play that boosted the visitors' lead to 2-17, after a 0-12 run. Saben Lee dunked and Nikola Milutinov gave Olympiacos hope at 6-20. Giedraitis knocked down a triple and John Brown drew a charge as Zvezda regained its composure. Evan Fournier's layup made it 8-20 after 10 minutes.

Alec Peters drained the Reds’ first three of the night with the onset of the second quarter. Baskets by Lee and Fournier got the hosts' offense on track, but Zvezda kept making shots and 2 straight triples by Giedraitis set a 17-31 lead. Olympiacos went on a 7-0 run fueled by Vezenkov, but Zvezda responded with a 0-10 surge inspired by Miller-McIntyre, who made it 24-41. After Giannoulis Larentzakis drained a three, Davidovac took his tally to 9 perfect points for a 27-43 lead at halftime.

Olympiacos opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run with all the points scored by team captain Kostas Papanikolaou. Kalinic netted inside on the other end, but Vezenkov nailed a pair of triples to bring Olympiacos within 43-50. Canaan netted a layup against his former team and Kalinic made 3 from the line for a 46-55 cushion. McKissic and Canaan traded triples before slams from the former and Fall slashed the difference to 55-58 heading into the closing quarter.

Yago Dos Santos netted a three before 5 points by Nedovic and two straight triples from Canaan created a 59-72 gap. Brown and McKissic exchanged buckets. A Vezenkov basket slightly trimmed the deficit to 63-74. McKissic netted a layup in transition and Peters scored 6 straight points to bring Olympiacos within 71-77 with a minute left on the clock.  Nedovic stayed ice-cold from the line to finish the game off.

The Serbian side led throughout the game against the league-leader

The EuroLeague MVP battle is entering the final stretch, with Sasha Vezenkov, Kendrick Nunn and TJ Shorts the frontrunners to take home the trophy.

2024-25 EuroLeague MVP Ladder by Eurohoops Vol. 4

For some, the latest Derby of the Eternal Rivals between [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) and [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/) also had the character of a “battle to end all battles” in the 2024-25 EuroLeague MVP race between [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) and [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/).

To quote [Mario Hezonja](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mario-hezonja/003108/), though, “This isn’t tennis, it’s basketball, brother”. And, since we are also talking about a single game, even a mighty EuroLeague classic, this is just one piece of the 34-game regular-season complex puzzle.

The fact is that the derby didn’t make us any wiser when it comes to who will lift the regular-season MVP trophy. Vezenkov still seems to hold the upper hand for various different reasons and Nunn is a close second. There’s only one other player with a couple of strong arguments against these two and may challenge them under specific circumstances.

Read more [HERE](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1800177/2024-25-euroleague-mvp-ladder-by-eurohoops-vol-4/).

An important period is coming up in the race to take home the MVP trophy