Valencia Basket can largely thank its prowess on the offensive glass for its important 82-80 victory over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

James Webb tipped in a miss by Jared Harper with 0.4 seconds left, and that was one of Valencia's 16 offensive rebounds in the game. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the hosts had won the battle of the boards, 40-29. Webb and Bojan Dubljevic both had 3 offensive rebounds, while Jonah Radebaugh added 2 offensive boards.

While Valencia ranks first in allowing the fewest offensive rebounds, Alex Mumbru’s team came into the game ranked just 14th with 9.4 offensive rebounds per game. Fenerbahce, however, has struggled all season with protecting its defensive glass, allowing 10.9 offensive rebounds per game, ranked 14th in the league. That formula helped Valencia win the game and stay alive in the race for the playoffs.

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Offensive boards carried Valencia to win over Fenerbahce

Valencia Basket v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2023-03-16T19:30:00.000Z)

Virtus Segafredo Bologna had high hopes of upsetting AS Monaco on the road after the home team’s top performer, Mike James, missed the game through suspension, having breached internal club rules. That news came after James had also missed last Friday's 93-102 win at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz with a finger injury.

However, Elie Okobo came up big against Virtus with an electrifying performance, pacing the hosts with a game-high 21 points to go with 5 rebounds and as many assists. The Frenchman's display saw him overshadow some household Virtus names, such as Milos Teodosic and Marco Belinelli.

Jordan Loyd provided solid backup to Okobo with 15 points as Monaco racked up its fourth successive win and the seventh in its last nine games, With five games remaining in the regular season, Monaco already has one foot in the playoffs, while Thursday's Round 29 victory boosted its hopes of gaining home-court advantage in the postseason.

Okobo made it clear that he was in no mood to slow down, even if the regular season is heading towards the home stretch: “We’ve got to keep that streak going. We’re going to play tougher and tougher teams. It’s the last couple of games before the playoffs and we want to make sure we win as many games as possible.”

Elie Okobo (21 points) Highlights vs. VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA, 03/16/2023

Elie Okobo highlights vs. Virtus

Monaco dominated the paint as it outrebounded Virtus 39-24, having collected 16 offensive boards to the visitors' total of just 5. The home team’s aggressive defense limited the Italian side to 33% shooting from three-point range and it also resulted in Virtus committing 18 turnovers.

The athleticism that Monaco can boast also made it difficult for Virtus to create open shots closer to the basket, with the hosts producing 4 blocks as they also forced the visiting team’s big men out of their comfort zone.

Tornike Shengelia and Mam Jaiteh managed just 6 points between them for Virtus, while guards Teodosic and Belinelli each shot 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Virtus head coach Sergio Scariolo echoed his team’s struggles after the game: “This \[Monaco team\] is probably the most athletic team in the competition, and you need to shoot well from the outside. It’s hard to score against them in the paint, especially for a team like us. We had many good looks, but there was no great accuracy tonight. Defensively we did alright, but they were rebounding well all night. We were in the game while the strength and energy was there; we tried really hard, but we were quite tired in the end.”

The result lifted Monaco to 19-10 while Virtus dropped to 13-16, meaning the Italian side now only has a slim chance of reaching the playoffs.

Elie Okobo shined for Monaco in Mike James's absence

AS Monaco v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2023-03-16T18:00:00.000Z)

### Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach 

"We had ups and downs, like in every game, but in the end, we led and we were able to finish the game. It was important for us, they had six wins in a row, and for us this was important after our last defeat \[on the road at Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 90-89\].

"It was a tough game all the way to the last minute. I believe we were aggressive defensively. We were able to string together very good defensive minutes, and we closed out the rebounds. We were able to run and that is important, because we like doing that. Also, the win is important because it keeps us close to the top of the standings, and our goal of reaching the playoffs is \[getting\] closer and closer. We have to keep thinking that we need to keep working."

### Ettore Messina, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan head coach 

"It was a close loss. To win here against Real Madrid, you need to play a great game, and we just played a very good game. Small details decided it, a couple of possessions where we missed open shots, and we gave up a dunk by \[Walter\] Tavares that I think decided the game. Overall, we played a very good game again. We just need to keep going and try to be better in the next one."

### Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid forward 

"I don't think about individual stats, as long as we get the win. That's the most important thing right now, and we are happy that we closed this game in a good way, that we got a win at home. It was important to stay calm, and getting trusted by my teammates \[is a cool feeling\]. And it is important to continue to do so in the practices, in the games. I am thankful for my teammates and my coach, first of all."

### Walter Tavares, Real Madrid center

"I always try to do my best. We are Real Madrid, we know we have to be ready to play every game like it is our last. That's my job, first on defense and then on offense; whatever they give to me, I try to finish. I think we respect Milan a lot, and that's why I think we have many victories against them. We take the games seriously, and that's why we win them."

Chus Mateo, Real Madrid: 'We need to keep working'

Real Madrid v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2023-03-16T19:45:00.000Z)

### Christos Serelis, Panathinaikos Athens head coach 

"We want to be competitive and get wins, because we had a lot of defeats and our psychology was bad. But now, day by day, we try to work hard, everybody, because we don't have a lot of injuries now. We will try to win more games.

"I think that we had a good game today. We played very well on offense. We had a lot of open shots, a good shot selection, because we shared the ball very well. We read ASVEL's defense. We had some problems in our defense against some pick-and-rolls. We fixed that in the third quarter and, finally, I think we deserved the win. It was an important win for us, because we had some losses and now we have two wins in a row in the EuroLeague. But also, we have one game in front of us in the Greek championship against Olympiacos. For us, it is a very good win to fix our psychology, and \[now we will\] work very hard in the next two days for the game that we have."

### TJ Parker, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne head coach 

"It was a great fight. We did well in the beginning of the game, the intensity we showed, the passing game, that's what we have to do, especially at home, to get a win.

"It is too bad. We really want to be at home and get a win. It is tough, especially in the second quarter; a big collapse and lack of concentration in that quarter. You win three quarters out of four and we know that already, in the EuroLeague, you have to be ready to play for 40 minutes. You can't just lose one quarter by 15. After that, it is too hard to come back."

### Paris Lee, Panathinaikos Athens guard 

"Of course, we wish we would have got a couple of games in the beginning \[of the season\], but the only thing that we can do right now is just prepare for the Greek League playoffs. We have a big game on Sunday against Olympiacos, so that was a good preparation game."

### Dwayne Bacon, Panathinaikos Athens forward 

"It was a good team win, we needed it. It was a good win for us and confidence for me, just from coming back out last game. I am just happy that we competed as a team, everybody chipped in, and that's how you win ball games."

Dwayne Bacon, Panathinaikos: 'That's how you win ball games'

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-03-16T20:00:00.000Z)

### Alex Mumbru, Valencia Basket head coach

“Some moments, we played great defense. One of the keys was our defense, but also the offensive rebounds.

"It was a very physical game. We knew that before it started. It was very important for us to control the rebounds, and I think we did a good job rebounding with the desire of all the players on the court. In some moments, I think we played very good defense. At the end, it was a tight game. They scored that three-pointer \[by Marko Guduric\] off the glass, but we had the last possession and we made the basket to win the game. We are happy to stay in the race for the playoffs. It was an important game for us, not only for our mentality but it’s good to see ourselves in the race to get to the playoffs.”

### Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach

“Congratulations to Valencia. It could have gone a different way, but that's basketball.

“It was a very exciting game. I would say Valencia started the game better. We had two problems the whole game and we tried to fix them. In some things, we managed to create some turnovers out of them in the second half and get some more possessions and get the lead in the third quarter. But the problem we had was the offensive boards. Due to the desire of Valencia’s players to go in numbers and crash the boards, this is why they had 16 \[offensive\] rebounds. And the last two plays were after offensive boards. We had good defense on \[Bojan\] Dubljevic, but he grabbed his own offensive rebound. And the good defense for the missed layup and a tip-in at the buzzer. Combine that with the turnovers, which were big – 16 turnovers and 16 offensive boards – it could have been a different game. We tied the game with the big shot off the glass by Marko \[Guduric\], but it was not enough. Congratulations to Valencia. We gotta become smarter on how we attack in the clutch moments. We gotta be more decisive when it’s a must-win game. And we definitely need to have a different mindset.”

### Bojan Dubljevic, Valencia Basket center

“It’s an important victory for us, especially in the fight for the top eight. I’m really proud of my team, because we fought amazingly against one of the best teams in the EuroLeague. But we have no time to celebrate. We are still alive. We will fight until the end.”

### Jared Harper, Valencia Basket guard

“It was a great win for us. We did a great job playing on both sides of the ball. That was a big play by \[James\] Webb at the end, getting the tip-in. And we are still in the fight to get to the playoffs.”

Bojan Dubljevic, Valencia: 'We will fight until the end'

Dzanan Musa scored 27 points to guide Real Madrid to a 91-87 win against the visiting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan at WiZink Center on Thursday night. This victory improved Real to a 20-9 record, which means that it is on the brink of mathematically qualifying for the playoffs. Milan, which saw its six-game winning streak come to an end, had a chance to send the game to overtime, down 90-87 with 4.9 seconds to go, but Johannes Voigtmann stepped out of bounds after an inbound pass from Shabazz Napier. Guerschon Yabusele then went 1-for-2 from the line, effectively ending the game as a contest and dropping the Italian side to a 12-16 record.

Musa's 27 points were one shy of a career high, and he also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Walter Tavares amassed 17 points and 8 rebounds, while Yabusele and Mario Hezonja scored 12 apiece in the victory. Napier paced Milan with 17 points and 8 assists, and Nicolo Melli had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stefano Tonut and Billy Baron netted 14 points apiece.

Despite having a tough time containing Tavares, Milan took control early on. Napier was orchestrating Milan's offense, with Baron sinking a pair of triples and Melli doing the damage inside. A fastbreak layup from Tonut made it 10-18. Yabusele and Musa sparked Real's offense, scoring the first 8 points in a 12-0 run to take a 24-23 lead after 10 minutes. 

Fabien Causeur hit back-to-back triples to extend it to 30-23, but Tonut made a three-pointer and Napier's return to the floor reignited Milan's offense. The two players fueled a 2-12 run that had the visitors back in front. However, led by Musa and with the defensive energy from Rudy Fernandez, Real scored the final 6 points of the quarter to take a 42-40 lead into the halftime break.

Melli opened the second half with a three-pointer, but Musa's triple helped the hosts to a 49-45 advantage. There were five lead changes in the early stages of the third quarter, before Baron and Napier gave the visitors a slim lead, and a pair of baskets from Brandon Davies made it 58-62. But Hezonja entered the game and got hot right away, stringing together 9 points, including a pair of triples, that put Real in front 67-66 going into the fourth quarter. 

The two teams continued to trade blows, but after Tonut's triple set a 71-74 score, Real put together a 12-2 run, which included several trips to the free-throw line. Milan refused to go away, however. Melli and Davies scored inside, then Napier got a favorable roll on a triple with 55 seconds to go, tying it at 84-84. But, Sergio Rodriguez served Tavares for an easy dunk, before Real made a defensive stand and never relinquished its lead again.

Dzanan Musa key as Real Madrid holds off Milan, 91-87

Panathinaikos Athens snapped a nine-game road losing streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 82-86 at the Astroballe in Round 29 on Thursday. Both teams now have a 9-20 record in the standings, but Panathinaikos is ahead due to its 2-0 record against ASVEL. The hosts recorded their sixth consecutive loss.

Paris Lee paced the winners with 14 points. Panathinaikos was also helped by Dwayne Bacon and Derrick Williams, who each had 13. Youssoupha Fall led ASVEL with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Nando De Colo added 12 points and 7 assists for the hosts.

Panathinaikos found an early go-to guy in Arturas Gudaitis, who scored in the paint and added a couple of layup-plus-fouls for a 9-11 lead. Fall rescued ASVEL with a layup, a dunk and a three-point play. Then, Jonas Mathews, Amine Noua and Antoine Diot each struck from downtown for a 26-20 ASVEL lead after 10 minutes. 

Marius Grigonis and Mateusz Ponitka combined for 8 points in a 1-12 run which Lefteris Bochoridis capped with a driving layup for a 27-32 Panathinaikos lead. De Colo hit a jumper, before Yves Pons and David Lighty brought ASVEL within 35-36. Grigonis, Mantzoukas and Lee sank a three-pointer apiece, Williams added a wild dunk-and-foul and an unstoppable Bacon boosted the guests' lead to 43-52 at halftime.

De Colo and Dee Bost tried to change things for ASVEL after the break, bringing the hosts as close as 50-56. But, Lee took over with a huge three-point play, keeping the Greens way ahead, 52-63. Tyus and Jonah Mathews fueled a 6-0 run that gave ASVEL hope at 58-63. Williams followed a fastbreak slam with a three-pointer, getting help from Bacon to give Panathinaikos a 62-70 lead after 30 minutes. 

Bacon hit a jumper and found Mantzoukas for a layup that made ASVEL stop the game, at 64-74. Then, Grigonis struck from beyond the arc and Bacon scored a three-point play to seal the outcome, 71-82, as ASVEL was unable to recover in the final three minutes.

Panathinaikos grabs road win at ASVEL, 82-86

Valencia Basket had James Webb to thanks for its crucial 82-80 victory over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at La Fonteta on Thursday night, as he scored a tip-in with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. That win snapped Valencia's four-game losing streak – and three-game losing run at home – as it improved to 14-15. Fenerbahce suffered a setback in the battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs by falling to 17-11, with it losing for the sixth time in its last eight road games.

Bojan Dubljevic led the way for Valencia with 18 points, while Jared Harper scored 15 points. Fenerbahce's Marko Guduric paired 23 points with 5 assists, and Johnathan Motley added 19 points in the loss.

Webb and Dubljevic both hit triples to give the hosts a 10-4 lead. Fenerbahce’s bigs, Devin Booker and Motley, helped the guests take their first lead, 12-13. Jonah Radebaugh sparked a 10-2 surge to put Valencia ahead 22-15, before Fenerbahce made it 22-21 after 10 minutes.

Fenerbahce needed nearly three minutes to score as Valencia extended the gap was 27-21. A Harper triple had Valencia back up 6 points, 32-26, but then Fenerbahce scored the next 6 points to tie the game. Harper was causing headaches for the visitors' defense and he helped the lead grow to 38-32. But, Guduric stepped up to help Fenerbahce head back to the locker room down by just 1 point, 43-42.

Guduric picked up 5 points in a 2-9 start for Fenerbahce, which gave it a 45-51 advantage. Valencia got the crowd into the game with some stops, and Martin Hermannsson’s jumper for his first points of the season pushed the hosts back up, 54-53. Valencia was up 61-60 after 30 minutes.

Victor Claver and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui hit triples as the cushion swelled to 69-60 to start the fourth quarter. Fenebahce charged back with triples from Nigel Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic in a 2-10 spurt to make it 71-70. Another Biberovic three-pointer tied the game at 79-79 with 55 seconds left. Fenerbahce found itself down by 3 points again in the waning seconds, but Guduric banked in a triple with 11 seconds to even it at 80-80. However, Webb became the hero for Valencia, tipping in a miss with 0.4 seconds remaining after Harper's failed layup attempt.

James Webb's tip-in pushes Valencia past Fenerbahce, 82-80

Olympiacos Piraeus was the first team to qualify to the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, edging Zalgiris Kaunas 72-74 in Round 29. The Reds were without star guard Kostas Sloukas but Shaquielle McKissic was ready to take over.

 McKissic followed Sloukas's advice 

Olympiacos Piraeus was the first team to qualify to the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, edging Zalgiris Kaunas 72-74 in Round 29. The Reds were without star guard Kostas Sloukas, but Shaquielle McKissic was ready to take over.

Sloukas did not travel with the Reds, but he sent some sound advice with his teammate, as McKissic revealed right after the game.

"I was thinking pretty much, 'What would Sloukas tell me?' He told me to be aggressive, so that's all I wanted to do," McKissic said.

Zalgiris had a strong start and led 29-23 midway through the second quarter. McKissic provided answers for Olympiacos on offense, scoring 12 points in 4 minutes to put the Reds in charge, 34-40, at halftime.

Shaquielle Mckissic had 18 points against Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 29.

McKissic steps up without Sloukas

Olympiacos built a double-digit lead but Zalgiris, led by an outstanding Rolands Smits, took a 72-70 lead in the next-to-last minute. In one of the key plays of the game, McKissic drew a foul while taking a three-point shot, hitting 2-of-3 free throws to tie the game, 72-72, with 50.8 seconds left. Olympiacos finished the work in crunch time: Giannoulis Larentzakis blocked Edgaras Ulanovas's shot and Sasha Vezenkov buried the go-ahead jumper.

McKissic had a solid all-around performance, finishing the game with 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 23. In Round 19, Olympiacos was also without Sloukas and McKissic had 21 points and a PIR of 30 in an 83-85 victory. Just as Sloukas said, McKissic provides the extra energy when the three-time EuroLeague champion is sidelined.

McKissic followed Sloukas's advice in win at Zalgiris

Zalgiris Kaunas v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-03-16T18:00:00.000Z)