AS Monaco has become the second top-four contender to be dealt a major blow on the road by a relentless Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, which won 91-88 in Round 29 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Proud Maccabi showed the right mindset to down another top-four contender

After [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/short-handed-maccabi-surprises-fenerbahce-94-76/), [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/roster/mco/?season=2024-25) has become the second top-four contender to be dealt a major blow on the road by a relentless [Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/roster/tel/?season=2024-25) after the international break. Despite having missed out on their main objective of making the postseason, the Israeli champs have been taking to the court with the mindset of competing until the final whistle.

This mentality, instilled into the team by head coach Oded Kattash, has seen Maccabi record three wins in a row for the first time this season. Two of those victories came against Final Four aspirants Fenerbahce and Monaco, each of which saw its defense concede over 90 points at Belgrade's Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.

Following Maccabi’s [91-88 victory over Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/maccabi-stuns-monaco-91-88-for-third-straight-win/) on Thursday, [Trevion Williams](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/trevion-williams/012604/) explained in simple words that the key to the win did lie in Maccabi’s attitude on the floor.

“Keeping our foot on the gas. Whether we’re up or down, trying not to pay much attention to the score and just playing hard,” he told EuroLeague TV. “The coach has been stressing that a lot lately. Just play hard regardless of the outcome, regardless of what happens. Just play hard and the best will happen for you.”

Game Videos

Maccabi came into Round 29 without two of its most important frontcourt players in [Jaylen Hoard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jaylen-hoard/006835/) and [Jasiel Rivero](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jasiel-rivero/011214/). Yet, Williams and [Roman Sorkin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/roman-sorkin/011219/) stepped up big time in the frontcourt, inspiring their team to victory. The former registered a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, with the latter pairing his 18 points with 7 boards.

“With the circumstances, other guys stepped up and got the job done,” Williams added. “It’s unbelievable. Our mindset going into the game didn’t change. We’ve now won three in a row and we want to keep that going.”

Game News

Sometimes, when objectives have not been accomplished as planned, pride steps in to provide you with a boost in motivation.

“Good feeling - three wins in a row,” [Rokas Jokubaitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rokas-jokubaitis/007519/) told EuroLeague TV. “Doesn’t happen often for Maccabi this season. It’s sad that we started playing like this at the end of the season, but it’s \[a matter of\] pride to finish the season as best as possible and we show it.”

A confident Jokubaitis (18 points, 5 assists) netted a layup in traffic with 0:31 remaining to complete a comeback by putting Maccabi ahead, 89-88. Levi Randolph, who chipped in with 17 points, sealed the victory from the free-throw line, sending a clear message across the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Maccabi is not to be underestimated.

The Israeli champs have now recorded three wins in a row for the first time this season

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v AS Monaco (2025-03-13T19:05:00.000Z)

In his fourth game back from injury, Wade Baldwin led Fenerbahce Beko's offense as they beat LDLC ASVEL 92-82 in Round 29, a result that guaranteed their place in the postseason.

Wade Baldwin adds another dimension to this Fenerbahce team

It has been a stop-start beginning to life at [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) for [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/), but the 28-year-old is starting to really find his groove once again.

The two-time All-EuroLeague Second Team guard returned from his second hamstring injury in Round 27, but it was in Round 29 that he was able to remind the Fenerbahce fans of what he can offer.

In [a 92-82 win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-seals-postseason-spot-by-downing-asvel-92-82/) that guaranteed Fenerbahce a top-10 finish in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings, and therefore a spot in the postseason, Baldwin finished with 15 points, 6 assists and a 20 PIR – all team highs. He also had 2 steals, the joint most with [Nicolo Melli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolo-melli/002849/), and 4 rebounds. All in all, a solid night.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ht" dir="ltr">MVP MVP MVP! 🔥 <br><br>👉 Wade Baldwin IV! 👏 <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Fourth_Wade?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_Fourth_Wade</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bug%C3%BCndenYar%C4%B1naHaz%C4%B1r?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BugündenYarınaHazır</a> <a href="https://t.co/2honorMkQR">pic.twitter.com/2honorMkQR</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1900282484119482709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Curiously, since he got back on the court, all three of the EuroLeague games Baldwin had played had come away from Istanbul. There was the surprise loss at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ([94-76](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/short-handed-maccabi-surprises-fenerbahce-94-76/)), then back-to-back road wins at Paris Basketball ([83-87](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-overcomes-paris-83-87-to-strengthen-grip-on-second-place/)) and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan ([76-100](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-crushes-milan-76-100/)), so this was the American’s first time to play in front of Fenerbahce’s fans at Ulker Sport and Event Hall in the EuroLeague since Round 15, back on December 12.

“For me being out for a while, it’s nice to finally play a home-court game in the EuroLeague,” Baldwin told EuroLeague TV after the ASVEL win. “It was good to come out with the win tonight against a tough team.”

The mid-season addition of [Errick McCollum](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/errick-mccollum/005216/) has provided another scoring punch to Fenerbahce’s offense, but it is Baldwin who conducts the offensive flow and rhythm. Now that he is back healthy again, he has the ability to make the difference for Saras Jasikevicius’s side.

“I feel like I’m at 100%. I did a good job of taking the time I needed to get back to who I normally am,” Baldwin explained. “It was a struggle obviously in the beginning for me, body just not feeling healthy, but our staff did a tremendous job of getting me back acclimated and the team is doing so well, it was easy for me to fit in.”

Now that Fenerbahce has locked up a postseason berth, the next objective is to lock up one of the top-four seeds for the playoffs.

“We’re striving to be a top-four team for the home court, and that inspires us each week.”

He had an impressive night against ASVEL in Round 29

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2025-03-13T17:45:00.000Z)

ALBA Berlin’s reserves scored 62 points in a 97-90 victory over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in which the starting five tallied 35 points in Round 29 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Production from bench helped ALBA play hard for 40 minutes 

The old basketball adage goes: a team has to play a full 40 minutes to win the game. One of the big reasons [ALBA Berlin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/alba-berlin/roster/ber/?season=2024-25) was able to beat [Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/roster/bas/?season=2024-25) and snap a four-month home losing streak was because the bench provided a massive spark.

ALBA’s reserves scored 62 points in [a 97-90 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/alba-snaps-4-month-home-losing-streak-in-first-game-under-coach-calles/) over Baskonia in which the starting five tallied 35 points.

“Most important was playing a complete 40 minutes. We really haven’t done that much this season. To win in the EuroLeague, you have to play a complete 40 minutes and I think for the most part we did that tonight,” said [Matt Thomas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/matt-thomas/008967/), who came off the ALBA bench to score a game-high 21 points. “We competed really well on the defensive end. Ninety points is still too much but Baskonia is a great offensive team. Things were clicking for us offensively, scoring 97 points.”

[Gabriele Procida](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/gabriele-procida/008384/) added 13 points as a reserve while [Yanni Wetzell](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/yanni-wetzell/011934/) chipped in 11 points as back-up big man.

“The difference was how we were playing defense. On offense we were a little bit freer in our heads because we knew we did the job on defense,” said Procida.

ALBA was playing its first game under new head coach Pedro Calles, who took over the team just one day earlier.

“The guys were focused on the point of emphasis that we made in one practice. We couldn’t do a lot. This is what I asked of them: just execute the game plan on a consistent basis. The game plan maybe was not the best but the most important thing was the level of execution. And they did a great job,” said Calles, who replaced Israel Gonzalez as ALBA’s playcaller on the sidelines.

ALBA picked up its first win at home since November 12 - a stretch of eight consecutive losses.

“It feels good. We needed this win for the ambience and all the fans. I think we can start a great culture from this one. We need to keep building with this mentality, with this talking,” added Procida.

ALBA's reserves outscored the team's starters 62-35 in snapping a losing skid

ALBA Berlin v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2025-03-13T19:00:00.000Z)

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan leaned on several usual suspects to edge  Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 80-82 in Round 29 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season thanks to a strong effort from Shavon Shields

Milan showed nerves of steel in a tight finish against Zvezda 

[EA7 Emporio Armani Milan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/ea7-emporio-armani-milan/mil/) leaned on several usual suspects as it captured [an 80-82 victory at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/milan-claws-out-huge-win-over-crvena-zvezda-80-82/) in Round 29 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season thanks to a strong effort from [Shavon Shields](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/shavon-shields/007831/).

With the game tied 78-78 in a nail-biting finish, Shields broke a 3-and-a-half minute deadlock and netted a tough layup to give Milan the lead for good, ultimately playing a key role in his team’s victory.

With both teams struggling offensively late in the game, Milan’s defense was airtight as the visitors prevailed on the back of 14 points from Shields and 19 by [Nikola Mirotic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-mirotic/000796/), who also racked up 7 rebounds.

“It was a super tough road game, but it’s a tough environment,” Shields said in his postgame comments. “A good team with lots of talented players, but guys came off our bench to contribute, so hats off to everybody in the locker room.

“We’ve now got five tough games left and hopefully we can put together a good run to finish the season. In the end, we took it one possession at a time and ultimately we made enough plays to win the game.”

Mirotic hit several deep three-pointers at various stages of the game, one of them in the fourth quarter when the game hung in the balance, while he also provided the necessary presence in the paint.  

“It’s always a big pleasure to play here and tonight it was a very important game for both teams,” said Mitrovic. “We stepped up, especially defensively as it was a game with lots of ups and downs. We just wanted to be in a position to win the game in the closing stages and with a bit of luck, we did.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BIG WIN!!! LET’S GO GUYS🤍❤️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForzaOlimpia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForzaOlimpia</a> <a href="https://t.co/3ozQHQOZo4">pic.twitter.com/3ozQHQOZo4</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1900280851994132647?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Ettore Messina acknowledged it was a huge win for Milan ahead of the home straight of the regular season, with the Italian side needing to keep up the good work in order to reach the postseason.

“The win is obviously extremely important for our confidence and the position in the standings,” Messina said. “Both teams missed shots in the fourth quarter, but we were able to get two or three stops in a row and that was the key. We rebounded well and we have to continue to do well on the road as we have a tough schedule.”

In Round 30, Milan visits Paris Basketball while Zvezda is away to runaway EuroLeague leader Olympiacos Piraeus.

The visiting team closed shop when the chips were down and eked out a precious road win

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2025-03-13T18:00:00.000Z)

Real Madrid won on the road for the first time in over a month as it defeated Virtus Bologna 67-80 in Round 29, with Los Blancos’ postseason hopes boosted as they improved to a 15-14 record.

Real Madrid holds off Virtus to grab important win, 67-80

Real Madrid won on the road for the first time in over a month as it defeated Virtus Segafredo Bologna 67-80 in Round 29. With this result, *Los Blancos*’ postseason hopes were boosted as they improved to a 15-14 record, while the hosts fell to 7-22.

Dzanan Musa and Walter Tavares led the way with 13 points apiece for Real Madrid, with Mario Hezonja and Usman Garuba both scoring 10 points each, too. Virtus’s leading scorer was Matt Morgan with 11 points, followed by Rayjon Tucker with 10.

After a back-and-forth start to the contest, with the score 8-8 four and a half minutes in, a 9-0 Real Madrid run capped by back-to-back scores by Usman Garuba allowed the visitors to take an 8-17 lead. Garuba had 7 of his team’s 17 points, and Dzanan Musa joined him on 7 points as the lead extended to 10-19. Real Madrid took its first double-digit lead following a score inside by Bruno Fernando and a triple by Facundo Campazzo, 12-14. That double-digit advantage was maintained in the remainder of the period, with Sergio Llull scoring his first points of the game to put Real Madrid 17-30 ahead with 15 seconds to go in the quarter.

Andres Feliz kept Real Madrid charging with two consecutive scores to start the second quarter, 17-34. Despite Virtus getting contributions from Toko Shengelia, Isaia Cordinier and Justin Holiday, a triple by Hezonja and another score by Feliz opened an 18-point lead at 23-41. Serge Ibaka entered the period scoreless, but he moved to 7 points with 1:42 remaining before halftime, then Hezonja netted inside to set a lead of 19 points, 29-48. After a pair of Cordinier free throws, it was 33-50 at the break.

It looked like things were only going to get worse for Virtus in the third quarter as a pair of free throws by Campazzo followed by a score inside by Tavares and a three by Garuba swelled the lead to 22 points, 35-57. Tavares responded to Shengelia’s free throws to maintain that 22-point advantage, 37-59, but Virtus punched back thanks to back-to-back threes by Morgan and Andrejs Grazulis, 43-59. Morgan, who was scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, really came to the fore and made it a 13-point gap at 49-62. He then replied to Hezonja’s reverse layup with a coast-to-coast layup and the free throw that followed, 52-66, before Grazulis’s layup set a 54-68 score after 30 minutes.

Hezonja netted Real Madrid’s first 3 points of the final frame, but Morgan and Shengelia combined to make things interesting at 59-71. Grazulis’s jump hook got the deficit down to 11 points, 61-72, but Virtus could not trim the gap any further. Tavares’s layup and Musa’s two free throws gave the visitors breathing room at 61-76, and Tavares added 4 more points to his tally as Real Madrid ended up securing a 67-80 victory.

Chus Mateo's side is now on the edge of the play-in places

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Real Madrid (2025-03-13T19:45:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv extended its winning streak to three games by defeating AS Monaco 91-88 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday 

Maccabi stuns Monaco, 91-88, for third straight win

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv extended its winning streak to three games by defeating AS Monaco 91-88 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday night. In an entertaining back-and-forth clash featuring several lead changes, the hosts closed the game with a 7-0 run to record three wins in a row for the first time this season. Maccabi may have missed out on the postseason, but this victory improves its record to 9-20. Meanwhile, Monaco is still pushing for a top-four spot despite dropping to 17-12.

Roman Sorkin and Rokas Jokubaitis paced Maccabi with 18 points each. Levi Randolph netted 17 and Trevion Williams recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. For Monaco, Mike James led all scorers with 25 points, Daniel Theis netted 16, Elie Okobo had 13 and Mam Jaiteh paired his 12 points with 11 boards.

Williams opened the scoring with an alley-oop slam, but 3 points from Alpha Diallo and buckets by Okobo and James gave Monaco a 2-7 lead. Maccabi responded with an 8-2 run, involving triples by Randolph and Sorkin, who put the hosts ahead, 10-9. Jokubaitis took over with 5 straight points to maintain a 15-13 cushion. Jaiteh scored inside, but 6 points from William Rayman off the bench made it 21-18 after 10 minutes.

Jordan Loyd nailed one from deep against his former team and James sank back-to-back buckets to put Monaco back in front, 27-29. Williams and Sorkin scored in the paint for another lead change, 33-31. Petr Cornelie drilled a corner three and Theis added 4 points to his tally, with Okobo netting off the glass for a 39-42 lead at halftime.

Monaco opened the second half with a 0-6 run inspired by James and Jaiteh, who scored a couple of baskets to open a 39-48 lead. But Randolph drained a triple and Sorkin netted a put-back bucket before a three-point play by the former brought Maccabi within 47-48. James and Theis scored 5 and 4 points, respectively, but Williams converted a three-point play of his own, trimming the deficit to 58-59. Monaco was dealt a major blow, as Theis hobbled off with a back injury, but Jaiteh made 2 of 2 from the line for a 59-63 lead heading into the closing quarter.

Jaiteh added 2 points to his tally and Jaron Blossomgame netted a corner triple to make it 61-69. Jokubaitis responded with 5 straight points and Marial Shayok drilled one from deep to bring Maccabi within 69-71. Triples from James and Okobo were followed by another Shayok three-pointer before Randolph made it 75-77 with a layup. Then, the game turned into a free-throw contest, with Monaco maintaining an 84-88 lead with 1:41 left on the clock. But Sorkin nailed a triple, Jokubaitis scored inside and Randolph hit a couple of free throws to put Maccabi in front, 91-88. James missed a triple that would have sent it to overtime and Maccabi celebrated a hard-fought win.

A decisive 9-0 surge in the closing stages gave Maccabi the victory

The wait is finally over for ALBA Berlin as the German side won its first home game in four months by beating Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 97-90 in the first contest under new head coach Pedro Calles

ALBA snaps 4-month home losing streak in first game under Coach Calles

 The wait is finally over for ALBA Berlin as the German side won its first home game in four months by beating Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 97-90 in the first contest under new head coach Pedro Calles. ALBA mounted a 13-4 stretch spanning the two final quarters to snap an eight-game home losing streak dating back to its 105-101 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on November 12.

Matt Thomas drained 5 three-pointers for 21 points, Gabriele Procida and Martin Hermannsson both had 13 points and Robert Baker added 12 points and 7 rebounds as ALBA snapped a four-game losing streak for a 5-24 record. Calles took over as ALBA head coach on Wednesday, March 12 and already has a EuroLeague victory under his belt.

Nikos Rogkavopoulos scored 17 points to pace five players in double figures for Baskonia, which fell to 12-17 and has now alternated losses and wins in the last nine games to fall almost completely out of the race for the Play-In Showdown.

Chima Moneke started hot for the visitors with 7 points in a 2-9 early lead. A Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot three-pointer made it 6-14. Thomas and Procida nailed back-to-back triples to finish a 10-0 ALBA surge for the hosts’ first lead 16-14. There were six lead changes the rest of the way and ALBA led 26-24 after 10 minutes with the home side’s reserves scoring 18 points.

Yanni Wetzell came off the ALBA bench for 5 points and the cushion was 33-29. Baskonia didn’t let ALBA get away and charged back ahead with a 2-11 run for a 35-40 cushion. The next run followed with recent addition Baker scoring 5 points in a 15-4 spurt to lead 50-44. The home side was up 50-46 at the break.

ALBA had a strong start to the second half and a Hermannsson three-pointer gave the hosts their biggest lead at 59-50. Baskonia punched back with the next 7 points to make it a 2-point game. Thomas answered with a three-pointer and added another triple and two Procida scores made it 75-67. The score was 75-69 after 30 minutes.

Thomas continued his outstanding game with a layup and his fifth three-pointer to put ALBA ahead 80-69 early on in the final frame. Baskonia committed four turnovers in the first 2 minutes and ALBA extended the advantage to 84-71. A Baker triple increased the lead to 16 points - 89-73 - with less than 5 minutes to feel like the dagger. Baskonia was not done with Luwawu-Cabarrot and Howard hitting three-pointers to close within 93-84 with 101 seconds left. With ALBA buckling, 21-year-old Elias Rapieque tipped in a miss with 1:20 minutes remaining for his only score of the game to finish off Baskonia.

ALBA beats Baskonia for first home win since November 12 

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan took a big step towards clinching a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason berth after improving to 16-13 with an industrious 80-82 win at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, which slipped to a third loss in a row. 

Milan claws out huge win over Crvena Zvezda, 80-82

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan took a big step towards clinching a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason berth after improving to 16-13 with an industrious 80-82 win at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, which slipped to a third loss in a row.

Nikola Mirotic paced Milan with a game-high 19 points to go with 7 boards, Zach LeDay chipped in with 15 points and Shavon Shields added 14 for the Italian side, which clawed out the victory in a physical contest devoid of much spectacular action.

Nemanja Nedovic and Nikola Kalinic led Zvezda with 12 points apiece while Isaiah Canaan and Filip Petrusev netted 11 each, but the Serbian side lacked a clutch player able to swing the contest its way in a tense finish as it slipped to 16-13.

Zvezda’s skid has coincided with Petrusev’s stunning loss of form in the last few games, with the power forward going 5 of 11 from the foul line against Milan while he also shot a modest 3 of 9 from the floor.

Nedovic made a bright start as he sank the opening 8 points for Zvezda and the home team carved out a 17-10 lead before Milan responded and closed the gap to 24-23 at the end of the first quarter.

Milan turned the tide in the second on the back of a 0-9 run but Zvezda’s small-ball unit hit back with a 10-0 streak as the game swung back and forth, with the visitors nosing ahead 45-48 at halftime thanks to good work from Mirotic and Shields, while Armoni Brooks also contributed with a pair of threes.

Zvezda struggled with moving the ball and finding open looks in the third quarter but was able to stay in touch thank to ironclad defense, while LeDay stepped up for Milan as the visitors maintained their advantage and led 64-68 ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Points were even more difficult to come by in the fourth as the matchup got increasingly physical, with Mirotic nailing 6 clutch points in a row for Milan enabling the visiting team to keep the upper hand, 76-78. With both sides faltering on offense in the home stretch, Mirotic made one of two free throws to make it 80-82 before Kalinic turned the ball over in Zvezda’s last possession in the dying seconds.

It was not pretty but they all count, especially in the regular season’s home straight, hence Milan will be delighted to have snatched what could turn out to be a priceless road win in the battle to secure a berth in the business end of Europe’s premier club competition.

The Italian side prevailed in a rugged contest to boost its postseason hopes

Zalgiris Kaunas erased a 20-point second-quarter deficit with a dominant second half to defeat Paris Basketball 83-81 on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena

Zalgiris edges Paris, 83-81, on Francisco’s jumper 

Zalgiris Kaunas erased a 20-point second-quarter deficit with a dominant second half to defeat Paris Basketball 83-81 on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The Lithuanian champs were down 16 at halftime before opening the third quarter with 10 straight points and finally taking their first lead through Bryant Dunston with the first basket of the fourth quarter. 

TJ Shorts tied it for Paris late, but there was enough time left for Sylvain Francisco to win it with a jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining. The victory lifted Zalgiris's record to 14-15 on the season, which Paris slipped to 16-13.

Ignas Brazdeikis led all Zalgiris scorers with 16 points, Francisco finished with 15 points and 8 assists and Edgaras Ulanovas added 12 points. Shorts scored a game-high 21 for Paris and Nadir Hifi and Mikael Jantunen netted 17 apiece.

Zalgiris scored on its first two possessions to get the crowd going, but Paris soon regrouped to and reeled off 7 straight points. Brazdeikis heated up for the hosts as the teams started to trade baskets. Free throws by Hifi made it 9-11 before the TV timeout paused things. Maodo Lo carved through the Zalgiris defense for a three-point play and Bandja Sy buried a triple that silenced Zalgirio Arena. Deividas Sirvydis provided a spark, but a three by Hifi and a jumper by Shorts kept Paris rolling at 14-22 after 10 minutes.

The hosts could not find their range while Tyson Ward and Shorts extended the margin. A three by Ward completed a 0-11 run that made it 14-31. Alen Smailagic revived Zalgiris with a three-pointer, but to no avail. Brazdeikis scored twice only to see Paris match him each time. Shorts connected from deep and Jantunen converted a layup to take the lead to 20. Free throws by Dunston and Isaiah Wong made it 31-47 at the halftime break.

Francisco knocked down a long three for his first points of the game and followed that with a contested layup. The crowd roared with approval as Brazdeikis scored before another three by Francisco made it 10 straight Zalgiris points to open the second half. Paris coach Tiago Splitter called a timeout to slow things down. However, a pair of Arnas Butkevicius blocks triggered 5 more points as Laurynas Birutis got the host within 46-47 with a put-back slam. Hifi ended the Paris drought, but Zalgiris now had its confidence back. Paris managed to stay just ahead through Hifi and Daulton Hommes and it was 60-61 when the third quarter ended.

Dunston gave Zalgiris its first lead since the opening minutes with the first basket of the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands with each of the next four baskets before back-to-back threes by Sirvydis and Ulanovas made it 72-65. Francisco’s layup and – after a Paris timeout – free-throw completed an 11-0 run for a 10-point lead. After baskets by Jantunen and Shorts, Zalgiris head coach Andrea Trinchieri called a timeout. Hifi kept pushing the visitors, but Isaiah Wong came up big on both ends, denying Shorts and sinking a pull-up jumper, to keep Zalgiris in control. Free throws by Shorts and got Paris within 79-76 with 2 minutes remaining. Jantunen tie it with a three from the corner with 1:11 to play. Butkevicius powered Zalgiris back in front, byt Birutis was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul on Shorts with 39.3 seconds left. Shorts missed both of the resulting free throws and a layup on the ensuing possession. He would get another chance and tie it from the line with 9.4 seconds left, but that left enough time for Francisco to win it with a jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining.

The hosts trailed by as many as 20 before their magnificent guard sparked a second-half comeback

Zalgiris Kaunas v Paris Basketball (2025-03-13T18:00:00.000Z)