Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz lost three quarters out of four in its 95-90 home win over Panathinaikos Athens, but coming out on top 31-15 in the second period was enough for the Spanish side to secure an all-important victory which kept it on course to reach the playoffs.

The hosts fired on all cylinders for 20 minutes or so after falling behind 21-10 early on, but then they took their foot off the gas when they were 60-40 up early in the third, allowing Panathinaikos to slash the deficit. However, the visitors never looked likely to force a late twist.

Exceptional shooting in the first half from inside the arc was the key to Baskonia’s win, having finished on 26 of 39 from two-point range to compensate for a relatively poor night from downtown, as they nailed a modest 9 of 31 three-point shots.

The Greens only hit 6-of-21 three-pointers and also struggled from the foul line (16 of 23), where Baskonia excelled (16 of 18). Just as crucially, Baskonia dished out 26 assists (16 in the first half) to Panathinaikos's 18, having also grabbed 6 boards more (39-33) and 11 of those rebounds were on the offensive end.

However, Baskonia head coach Joan Penarroya was quick to point out that it wasn’t all good: “We relaxed after going up by 20 points in the second half. We could have won by more points, in the second half we conceded 52 and we need to improve in defense.”

Matt Costello also had no excuses for a lapse that could have cost Baskonia had the visitors not ran out of time.

If we don’t play hard we are going to lose these games so we’ve got to figure it out,” he said. "We were up by 20 and then we decided to take our foot off the gas. Every team here can score.”

The selfless nature of Baskonia’s offense was perhaps best personified by shooting guard Darius Thompson, who dished out 10 assists before he scored his only 3 points of the game, netting his solitary shot from the floor and 1-of-2 free throws.

That allowed Markus Howard to finish on a game-high 24 points, however he struggled from the floor, going 2 of 11 from three-point range. He did sink 6 of 7 from inside the arc, though.

“I am glad we got the win against a good team but we can play a lot better,” Howard said after the game. “We had a big lead and then we let it up a little bit, so there are definitely things we can get better at and adjust.”

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Baskonia was in top gear when it mattered

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-02-03T19:30:00.000Z)

Monaco and Real Madrid are used to playing out memorable games against one another, and Friday evening's meeting between the two is another that went down to the wire. Real prevailed 91-95, getting some payback against Monaco after losing in overtime back in overtime in Round 12.

On this night, however, Real overcame everything that was put in front of it. In particular, the foul trouble of its two towers, Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier, and a dreadful opening five minutes of the third quarter, during which Monaco put together a 12-1 run.

Real committed 10 of its 18 turnovers in that third quarter alone, but it managed to come back after hitting some big shots from long range. *Los Blancos* knocked down 14 triples, the most in a road game this season, on 31 attempts, which is also the most the team has shot away from Madrid this season.

Mario Hezonja was on fire from deep, going 6-for-10 from downtown, while Sergio Llull was 3-of-7, with two coming late in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Adam Hanga came up big with a pair of threes, too.

On the other hand, Monaco had half as many turnovers, 9, but shot just 4-for-18 from three-point land.

Threes got Real Madrid out of trouble in Monaco

AS Monaco v Real Madrid (2023-02-03T18:00:00.000Z)

The relatively narrow 6-point winning margin might suggest Friday’s showdown between Olympiacos Piraeus and Anadolu Efes Istanbul was a pretty close game, but in reality the Greek team was vastly superior in nearly aspect of the contest and should have won by a much bigger margin than the final 76-70 scoreline.

Olympiacos had significantly better field goal shooting percentages, making 20-of-31 (64.5%) two-pointers and 9-of-27 (33.3%) three-point attempts compared to 21-of-38 (55.3%) from two and 5-of-21 (23.8%) from three for the visiting team.

The Reds also dished more assists (24 vs. 18) and dominated the rebounding battle with 36 boards against Efes's 28. That extra physicality was also reflected in the fact that Olympiacos blocked 4 shots, with the Turkish team recording 2.

So, why was the game so close? Mainly because of a big disparity in free-throw shooting: Olympiacos converted only 9 of its 17 trips to the foul line, with veteran leader Kostas Papanikolaou slightly spoiling an otherwise inspirational performance by only making 1 of 4. Efes, on the other hand, converted 13 of its 15 free-throw shots to give itself a chance of making an unlikely comeback.

But if Olympiacos had come close to its usual 78% accuracy from the line, the final margin would have been in double digits – and that would have more accurately reflected the host’s dominance.

Olympiacos dominated Efes despite narrow final margin

Olympiacos Piraeus v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-02-03T19:00:00.000Z)

### Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach

"The second half was closer to the first quarter than the second, and we had the control of the game throughout most parts of it. Congratulations to my players, we needed a road win. This team is a good team. A couple of weeks ago, they beat teams like Fenerbahce and Milan on the road. I am very happy with the win, but we are in the race \[for the playoffs\]. The competition is tough, the race for the playoffs is extremely close and tough, but we are there. We want to make our steps one after another and see where we are in a few weeks. For example, \[our\] next game is against Barcelona, a super powerhouse, but let's see. Step by step."

### TJ Parker, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne head coach 

"I think they impacted us a lot defensively, and we didn't find a solution offensively. After that, defensively, we did a pretty good job, but after that, we had to find a way to score."

### Marco Belinelli, Virtus Segafredo Bologna forward 

"It is a very big win for us. We played well, I think, from the beginning until the end, together. Everybody was aggressive. We prepared the game in a good way. We knew that, for us, it was an important game to win, and we did that. It is important for us to keep going like that. Now, we are going to play an Italian \[League\] game against Brescia, then we are going to play against Barcelona. We still believe, and want to believe until the end, so we are going to try to do our best. It is not easy to play on the road but we did. We bring the win to Bologna and just need to keep going and stay positive, for sure."

### Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard 

"This, for us, was a must-win game to keep fighting for a playoffs spot. This year, EuroLeague is kind of crazy. A lot of teams grouped up in a few wins or losses, so every game is crucial. We came here with the mindset of giving it all on the defensive end. I thought we did a good job, holding them under 70 points. Overall, we shared the ball and tried to get good shots. Our young guys did an amazing job, Pajola, Mannion... Belinelli was amazing, so we are happy to get the win. As I said, we came here with a mindset that this was a must-win game, a final for us. We prepared even when we had a few days only to prepare for the game in this double week. But we are locked in, focused, and we want to give it a try to reach the Top 8."

Sergio Scariolo, Virtus: 'We are in the race'

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2023-02-03T20:00:00.000Z)

Virtus Segafredo Bologna completed a perfect double-round week in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by topping LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 64-77 at the Astroballe on Friday night. Virtus improved to 11-12 in the standings and grabbed its first EuroLeague road win since early January, while ASVEL dropped to 8-15 after losing its two games this week.

Marco Belinelli paced the winners with 21 points off the bench. Toko Shengelia added 10, and five other Virtus players scored between 5 and 7 points in this game. Nando De Colo led ASVEL with 15 points and 6 assists. Youssoupha Fall added 11 points, and Amine Noua had 10 for the hosts.

Shengelia and Daniel Hackett fueled a 2-9 Virtus run that Kyle Weems capped with a bomb from downtown. Dee Bost and De Colo each buried a three-pointer in a 10-0 ASVEL run that gave the hosts their first lead, 12-9. Virtus increased its physicality and found a go-to guy in Belinelli, who scored 5 points in a 0-12 run that boosted the guests' lead to 14-23 early in the second quarter. Belinelli buried two more shots from beyond the arc and also made a jumper to keep Virtus fully in charge, 26-35. David Lighty and Charles Kahudi brought ASVEL within 37-39 at halftime.

ASVEL tied the game, 44-44, on a wild buzzer-beating three-pointer by Kahudi. Isaia Cordinier stepped up for Virtus with 5 quick points, getting help from Bako and Hackett to regain a 48-55 lead after 30 minutes. Belinelli struck again from beyond the arc, then Alessandro Pajola followed a fall-away jumper with a catch-and-shoot corner triple that broke the game open, 48-63, with eight minutes remaining. Noua and Fall tried to change things for ASVEL, but Belinelli stayed unstoppable, allowing Virtus to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Marco Belinelli leads Virtus past ASVEL, 64-77

Cazoo Backonia Vitoria-Gasteiz returned to winning ways on Friday night with a 95-90 victory against Panathinaikos Athens at Buesa Arena, which improves the hosts' Turkish Airlines EuroLeague record to 13-10 in what is shaping up to be a ferocious battle to reach the playoffs. With this defeat, the visitors dropped to 8-15 and have only a forlorn hope of squeezing into the Top 8.

Usual suspect Markus Howard paced the hosts with 24 points, although he shot only 2-of-11 from three-point range. His support cast delivered, however, as Matt Costello chipped in with 16 points, Vanja Marinkovic scored 14 and Maik Kotsar added 10. Derrick Williams led Panathinaikos with 19 points, while Paris Lee, Georgios Papagiannis and Dwayne Bacon racked up 16 each.

Panathinaikos looked capable of grabbing a rare road win after racing into a 21-10 lead in the first quarter, with Bacon hitting shots from all angles. However, that was as good as it got for the visitors, as Baskonia replied with a 23-5 run which turned the match on its head. From there, the home side never looked back.

Howard ignited the comeback and his teammates duly followed, having upped the pace to a speed that Panathinaikos struggled to cope with. The lead soared to 52-38 at halftime, with Howard on 14 points while Costello had 8 and Rokas Giedraitis 7, courtesy of a quick transition of the ball producing plenty of team assists.

Panathinaikos looked out for the count when Baskonia romped into a 60-40 lead early in the third quarter, but the visitors replied with a 10-0 run which rekindled their hopes of staging an unlikely comeback.

Baskonia then rediscovered its offensive momentum and, although it wasn’t a comfortable end to the game for the hosts, they did enough to hold on. The Spanish team's advantage ebbed and flowed as it got back into double figures, only for Panathinaikos to reduce it to single digits several times, forcing Baskonia to dig deep in the closing stages. But, in the end, Baskonia did enough to see its victory over the line.

Baskonia rallies past Panathinaikos, 95-90

It’s fair to say that Michalis Lountzis has not exactly been a fundamental part of Olympiacos Piraeus’s title challenge so far this season…until, that is, a monster performance from the 24 year-old guard in Friday night’s 76-70 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

 Reds' Michalis Lountzis filled the shoes of Sloukas 

It’s fair to say that [Michalis Lountzis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/michalis-lountzis/006302/) has not exactly been a fundamental part of Olympiacos Piraeus’s title challenge so far this season…until, that is, a monster performance from the 24 year-old guard in Friday night’s 76-70 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Heading into the game at the Peace and Friendshjp Stadium, Lountzis was averaging 1.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game, with 6:23 playing time and a PIR of 1.8. His season high was 4 points, achieved against Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 12, and five of his 10 appearances resulted in 0 points scored. 

That was in large part because Lountzis was not really needed, acting as the fifth guard in Olympiacos’s rotation behind Thomas Walkup, Isaiah Canaan, Kostas Sloukas and Giannoulis Larentzkis. But injury to Sloukas meant that Lountzis was given an enhanced role for the visit of Efes, and he stepped up magnificently.

The career-high 13 points of Michalis Lountzis during Olympiacos Piraeus's 76-70 win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Michalis Lountzis's 13 points vs. Efes

He smashed his previous career high of 5 points by netting 13 with great efficiency, making 2 of 3 two-point attempts and all 3 of his triples. Three of those baskets came in a key phase midway through the second quarter, allowing Olympiacos to take control of the game that would never really be lost despite a spirited Efes attempt to comeback in the final quarter.

Lountzis wasn’t only notable for his offense – he also did a great job on the defensive end by grabbing 7 rebounds and 2 steals, carrying out the far-from-straightforward task of guarding Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic with non-stop energy and commitment, consequently limiting Efes’s danger men to 10 points apiece.

Lountzis’s teammates certainly appreciated his efforts, with top scorer Sasha Vezenkov using his post-game TV interview to laud just one man: "I will not talk about myself or the game," Vezenkov said. "I will talk about Mike Lountzis, what he did today and what he’s doing lately to step into the shoes of, for me, the best pure point guard in Europe right now.

“To go and play the minutes of Kostas Sloukas is really tough, but he’s always ready and I think this is the most important thing for the victory. When your 12th player, let’s say, is ready to play the game, I think that’s the most important thing.”

And with Lountzis playing like this, Sloukas can recover from injury safe in the knowledge that his understudy is making all the right moves.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hard to spell his name, harder to guard him<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lountzis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lountzis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ataman?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ataman</a> <a href="https://t.co/iF5C864wrb">pic.twitter.com/iF5C864wrb</a></p>&mdash; Yannis Psarakis (@YPsar) <a href="https://twitter.com/YPsar/status/1621616337649901576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

Reds' Michalis Lountzis filled the shoes of Sloukas

EuroLeague Live Blog: Round 23, Friday

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Live Blog: Real, Olympiacos end Round 23 top of the pile

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v ALBA Berlin (2023-02-03T17:45:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-02-03T18:00:00.000Z)

### Joan Pennaroya, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz head coach

“It’s an important victory for us after a difficult week for the team. Again, we didn’t play good defense as we conceded 52 points in the second half, but I think we controlled the game. We need to improve our defense, because we can play better in that department.

“Another important Euroleague win. We started badly in defensive situations. After the first five minutes, we played well the next 15 minutes. We controlled the rhythm, we controlled the situations in our offense; winning the second quarter by 15 points was very important for the victory tonight. We relaxed after going up by 20 points in the second half. We could have won by more points. In the second half, we conceded 52 points. We need to improve on defense.”

### Dejan Radonjic, Panathinaikos Athens head coach

“Congrats to Baskonia, they were better than us tonight.

“The beginning of the game was good for us. In the second quarter, we made so many mistakes at both ends and lost control. After 20 minutes, they had a big advantage, shooting 92% on two-pointers. In the second half, we put energy on the floor to be in the game, but it was not enough. The charts show we only lost the second quarter but in the end Baskonia won the game.”

### Markus Howard, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz guard

“I feel good. I am glad we got the win against a good team, but we can play a lot better. We had a big lead and then we let it up a little bit, so there are definitely things we can get better at and adjust. We definitely needed this one as we haven’t been as consistent lately as we were early, especially on the road. We’ve got to pick it up. We’re a team that’s learning; there are a lot more games to play so we’ve got to get better.”

### Matthew Costello, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz center

“It’s not a great victory, but it’s a win. We always want to get wins in the EuroLeague to try to make the playoffs, but we played so bad. We were up by 20 and then we decided to take our foot off the gas, and every team here \[in this league\] can score. If we don’t play hard we are going to lose these games, so we’ve got to figure it out. It was lack of focus. Everybody started chilling; turnovers, easy lay-ups. I give credit to them, they hit every shot in the second half, they hit a lot of tough floaters, but still we’ve got to do better.”

Baskonia was in top gear when it mattered

Threes got Real Madrid out of trouble in Monaco

Olympiacos dominated Efes despite narrow final margin

Sergio Scariolo, Virtus: 'We are in the race'

Marco Belinelli leads Virtus past ASVEL, 64-77

Baskonia rallies past Panathinaikos, 95-90

Reds' Michalis Lountzis filled the shoes of Sloukas

Live Blog: Real, Olympiacos end Round 23 top of the pile

Markus Howard, Baskonia: 'We needed this one'