In a game in which neither team had a lead larger than 7 points, Real Madrid hit 14 three-point shots to edge AS Monaco 91-95 as Mario Hezonja had a career-high 30 points.

Real takes thriller in Monaco, 91-95

In a game in which neither team had a lead larger than 7 points, Real Madrid hit 14 three-point shots to edge AS Monaco 91-95. Real's third straight win raised its league-best record to 16-7, retaining a first-place tie with Olympiacos Piraeus. Monaco dropped to 14-9, tied for fourth place. 

A back-and-fourth affair featured four lead changes and two ties early in the fourth quarter before Real took the lead for good behind baskets from Dzanan Musa, Guerschon Yabusele and Adam Hanga before a triple from Mario Hezonja made it 85-90, the visitors' largest lead and a big-enough cushion to prevail.

Hezonja was the star of the show with a career-high 30 points. His 6-for-10 three-point shooting and 6 assists were also career highs. Musa scored 14, Gabriel Deck had 13 points plus 9 rebounds, and Sergio Llull netted 10 in victory. Mike James had 23 points, but shot 0-for-4 from three-point range, for Monaco. Elie Okobo scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, and Alpha Diallo finished with 15 points in defeat.

The teams traded leads throughout the first half with Nigel Williams-Goss and Hezonja each hitting a triple for Real to open a 11-14 lead. James got going for the hosts, but Musa scored 6 points for Los Blancos to help the visitors go up 20-24 after 10 minutes. Okobo took over next, scoring 9 points in a run that put Monaco in front 31-30, but Hezonja got hot, stringing together 10 points, including a pair of triples, to make it 37-40. More points from Hezonja, including a three from the logo, helped the visitors take a 46-50 edge into halftime.

After the break, Monaco stepped it up on defense, and did not allow a single Real field goal for more than 5 minutes while James, Jordan Loyd and John Brown fueled a 12-1 run that made it 58-51. Walter Tavares already had 4 fouls for Real and Vincent Poirier got called for his fifth, but Real turned to Llull, who hit twice from long range, and Hezonja, who netted his fifth of the night, to get back in the game. Musa's four-point play gave Real a new lead at 69-70 late in the third quarter, but Alpha Diallo restored Monaco's slim advantage, albeit briefly. The teams traded leads until Musa made a tough runner, Yabusele drove for a dunk and Hanga nailed a three-pointer to make it 82-87. Hezonja's triple kept the margin at 5 points. Monaco did have a possession to tie it, but with 30 seconds left in the game, and Monaco down by 3, James decided to pass up a wide-open three-pointer. His intended target, Jarron Blossomgame, was not looking for the pass, convinced that James would shoot it, and the resulting turnover and helping Real seal a dramatic win.

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

Olympiacos Piraeus dominated Anadolu Efes Istanbul to claim an impressive 76-70 victory. The Reds raised their record to 16-7. Efes fell to 11th place at 11-12. Sasha Vezenkov led the way with 23 points, while Michael Lountzis paired 13 points with 7 rebounds. Shaquielle McKissic and Moustapha Fall both netted 10.

 Impressive Olympiacos downs Efes, 76-70 

Olympiacos Piraeus dominated Anadolu Efes Istanbul to claim an impressive 76-70 victory at Peace and Friendship Stadium, underlining its status as a leading title contender. The Reds raised their record to 16-7, retaining a tie for first place with Real Madrid. Efes fell to 11th place at 11-12.

Olympiacos came flying out of the blocks to race into a double digit lead midway through the first quarter, and the gap grew to 15 points before the break. Efes improved in the second half and got within 4 points, but the Reds held firm. Sasha Vezenkov led the way with 23 points, while Michael Lountzis paired 13 points with 7 rebounds. Shaquielle McKissic and Moustapha Fall both netted 10, and no Efes player scored more than 10 points.

Vezenkov’s three-point play, Thomas Walkup’s triple and four baskets from Fall gave Olympiacos a fast start, 18-6. A triple from Lountzis made it 22-13 at the end of the first, before two scores from Will Clyburn made it closer. The red-hot Lountzis netted three more scores to keep the host comfortable, 38-25, before 4 points from Vasilije Micic made it 41-31 at the break. A trio of triples from Vezenkov extended the lead to 56-41 midway through the third, but Elijah Bryant gave Efes hope with two baskets in a 0-9 run, making it 59-52 with ten minutes left. Bryant and Shane Larkin pulled Efes even closer, but Olympiacos stepped up its defense and another Vezenkov triple made it 70-61. Two more Vezenkov baskets in the closing minutes sealed the deal to spark major celebrations.

Impressive Olympiacos downs Efes, 76-70

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

Michalis Lountzis, Olympiacos: 'I’m happy that I was ready'

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach

“Bearing in mind that we didn’t have a deep bench, playing without Kostas Sloukas, Alec Peters and George Pappas, we had 11 players. Everybody had to step up and contribute. Michalis Lountzis did a great game today, and everybody contributed to get this very important win. We are close to qualifying for the top eight and I think if we win two or three more games we will reach our first target.

“A very demanding game against the European champions, a talented team. Our defense was really solid, and if we had better percentages from free throws and open three-pointers, we could have won more easily. But anyway I give credit to the players and the fans for another great atmosphere in our home court, and good luck to Efes.”

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

“For three quarters we didn’t play well. In the last quarter, we played aggressive defense and tried to come back. But \[Sasha\] Vezenkov made a great game and found some very difficult shots. Offensively we didn’t find a solution except Rodrigue Beaubois. Olympiacos maybe didn’t play a very good game but they deserved to win, congratulations.

“I suffered on the bench to watch this basketball. I think that many people, even the Greek people from Olympiacos, suffered, because tonight the basketball was terrible. But I’d like to give big congratulations to \[Michalis\] Lountzis. So far, he played with a 1 point average and many times he didn’t make the roster. Tonight, without \[Kostas\] Sloukas, he made a great job, and of course Vezenkov in the second half found some difficult shots. On our side, it’s very difficult to understand that every game, and also tonight, we started with 8-0 after two minutes. We didn’t start the game with good concentration and good emotions. We played terrible, but in the second, third and fourth quarters, we led the game by 3 points. But in the first quarter, we played terrible. Offensively, it was a terrible night for us. I’d only like to congratulate my team for the last quarter – after a 15 points difference, they didn’t give up and tried to come back, with defense and the young player, Erten Gazi, who put energy. But we didn’t find anything from our star players offensively. Everybody is saying we have very good offensive players, but these star players we need in these games. Not in Turkish League games against a weak team. I’m talking about Will Clyburn and Vasilije Micic. We need these star players to find scoring in this game. Our situation is not good right now in the EuroLeague.”

### Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus forward

“I’m really exhausted, but I will not talk about myself or the game. 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. I want to congratulate all the players, all the staff. It was a tough game, Efes is a really talented team. I talked way more than I have to but I’m really happy so congrats to all the team.”

### Michalis Lountzis, Olympiacos Piraeus guard

“I want to focus on the win. It was a very tough match against the champions. We knew it would be tough and that they would come back, as they did, but we’re very happy. We’re very energetic, the crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was amazing, we’re really happy. I am proud of my team that we managed to win both games in the double week. I’m happy that I was ready, I’m happy I helped my team. We focus on the win and we focus on the next game.”

Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos: 'Everyone had to step up'

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade earned a crucial victory in its fight for the playoffs as it knocked off Zalgiris Kaunas 74-88 on the road. Partizan made 13 three-pointers to improve to 12-11 with eight wins in the last 10 games and a season sweep of Zalgiris. Ioannis Papapetrou paced six Partizan players in double figures with 17 points.

 Partizan ends Zalgiris streak, 74-88 

**The hosts had won their last four at home until Friday**

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade earned a crucial victory in its fight for the playoffs as it knocked off Zalgiris Kaunas 74-88 on the road. Partizan made 13 three-pointers to improve to 12-11 with eight wins in the last 10 games and a season sweep of Zalgiris. Ioannis Papapetrou paced six Partizan players in double figures with 17 points. Mathias Lessort and Kevin Punter both scored 14, while Zach LeDay picked up a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Dante Exum added 11 points and James Nunnally all 10 of his in the fourth quarter. Zalgiris saw its four-game home winning streak end and has now lost three straight for a 12-11 record. Ignas Brazdeikis scored 17 points in the loss and Laurynas Birutis and Rolands Smits both chipped in 10 points. 

The game was close for the first 5 minutes before Papapetrou hit a triple and Punter scored 4 points in a 0-9 run to a 9-20 Partizan lead. Exum added 5 points for Partizan off the bench as the advantage grew to 15-26 after 10 minutes. LeDay's triple early in the second quarter pushed the margin to 14 points, 17-31. Zalgiris kept Partizan scoreless for nearly 3 minutes but could not cut into the deficit as three-pointers from Alen Smailagic and Aleksa Avramovic had Partizan up 19-37. A second Punter triple gave the guests a 22-point cushion 20-42 and the guests stayed up 30-47 at the break. 

Zalgiris was strong coming out of the locker room with Birutis scoring 6 points and Arnas Butkevicius and Edgaras Ulanovas draining shots from deep to cut the margin to 46-56. Zalgiris trimmed the gap further, 52-58, and trailed 54-61 after 30 minutes. Partizan delivered the knockout punch in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter with 2 triples in a 2-11 start to go up 56-72 with 7 minutes left. The hosts could not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Partizan ends Zalgiris streak, 74-88

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

 Dzanan Musa, Madrid: 'Glad we got revenge' 

### Real Madrid head coach Chus Mateo

"We did a very good job as a team. We worked together, we worked together in bad moments when things were not so good in the third quarter. We were patient and kept working. We found open shots and we scored from the outside. We had 22 assists, which is very important, to pass the ball to become a team. I am very happy for that, happy for the victory, and very happy for the players who showed a big pride to come back to the game. It was a very good victory for us."

### AS Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic

"It is never nice to lose at home but we presented ourselves in the best possible way. We stole the game in Madrid and they stole the game here. But we had chances to win. The basketball emotion was in the best possible way; everyone enjoyed the game. You could see how a team that is one of the favorites to win, the way they play. Even players coming off the bench, guys you don't expect to impact the game, like Adam Hanga in the end, comes in and shoots. I know as a player how tough it is to do that, not being involved almost the entire game and then come in and make those shots. It is a big mentality. And it is important, they know how to do it, they know how to stay calm and make good decisions."

### Real Madrid forward Mario Hezonja

"I think we did a good job closing out the game. I don't think we were solid defensively tonight. It is something we are known for, but we were not good in one-on-one defense and we have to fix that if we want to get where we want to be at the end of the season. Overall, the team stepped up in the second half. We knocked down some big big big shots, with great offensive possessions, and we were able to close the game."

### Real Madrid guard Dzanan Musa

"We just stayed focused. We followed coach's game plan. This is one of the toughest away games you can win. And we did that, and we showed we are one of the best teams in the EuroLeague. But we have to continue to work because this means nothing if we now don’t continue the progress. It was not an easy defeat against them on our home court, we were thinking about it down 4 on the last possession. I am happy and glad we got revenge, but I hope and I think we will see each other again down the road."

Dzanan Musa, Madrid: 'Glad we got revenge'

 Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce: 'A confidence win' 

### Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce head coach

"First of all, we were expecting \[a high-scoring game\] because ALBA, as I said also at halftime, they are one of the best, probably the best team in the EuroLeague playing high tempo. Especially after \[received\] basket, they don't stop. They have a good flow. We did a pretty good job in the third quarter in order to make stops: we only gave up 14 points in that third quarter. I think it was a turning point and the fact that we managed to force 16 turnovers is big. Obviously, we didn't contain them a lot but still, we have a confidence win, so congratulations to the team and thank you to the fans. They are coming to support us and are still believing in the team, because we are in a process. Nigel \[Hayes-Davis\] is highly focused. He likes what he is doing and had a good night, as did DyShawn Pierre, who was very important at the beginning. If we start the analysis, ALBA chose to go on triangle-and-two, box-and-one, making zone matchups, and DP was getting the tone, and Nigel had a lot of drives and kicks, and we were making shots. The only problem was to make stops because they had scores, like I said, after baskets so we talked about the second possessions and we talked about being dominant. We wanted to win on rebounds and did that, so congratulations."

### Israel Gonzalez, ALBA head coach

"Congratulations to Fenerbahce for the win. We need to keep improving. We have some problems in our defense and we need to improve our challenge in one-on-ones. We are receiving too many close baskets in penetration, and this is our way to improve because we are a team that arrives with good rhythm, normally, around 80 points, but we need to decrease the points \[allowed\] on defense. With this, we can win more things: more respect, more games, a better spirit and to keep improving until the end of the season. We have to keep working to play better defense, better offenses and earn a little bit more luck in those situations. Luke Sikma is our reference, the one who makes us play with our style, carrying the team. He is our point guard on the court. He couldn't do that today due to foul trouble but I am sure he will help us in the next games."

### Johnathan Motley, Fenerbahce player

"I think we did good. We just wanted to focus on starting better that we have been. Lately, we have been losing games based on bad starts, and our second and third quarters are pretty good. So we just really wanted to start good today, and I think we did a good job at that. Definitely, we were making more shots, moving the ball more. We have been having some troubles on offense lately, but we could put up 100 points today, I think, so it is always good to see those type of games, get everybody involved. I think we had a couple of guys in double figures, so that's good. Everybody's touching the ball, everybody has good tempo, good pace, and it's good."

### Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce player

"We just wanted to come out and focus on two things: playing defense and moving the ball. It is never going to be perfect but we did a better job. We're just trying to build back to get to where we were, playing good Fenerbahce basketball starting, like I said, on defense first, sharing the ball and always playing hard. Coach told me if I don't rebound and make threes, he was going to send me home, so I just wanted to come out and do my best to try to do that. Team effort, though. We were playing good defense a lot of possessions, so a lot of opportunities to rebound the ball. We did a good job and were able to come out with a win."

Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce: 'A confidence win'

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

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul bounced back from back-to-back losses by topping ALBA Berlin 99-84 at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Round 23 on Friday. Nigel Hayes-Davis led the winners with 24 points and 11 rebounds. 

 Hayes-Davis leads Fener to 101-86 win! 

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul bounced back from back-to-back losses by topping ALBA Berlin 99-84 at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Round 23 on Friday . Fenerbahce improved to 14-9 in the standings. Meanwhile, ALBA dropped to 6-17, remains at the bottom of the standings and is now on a five-game losing streak.<br>
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Nigel Hayes-Davis led the winners with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Johnathan Motley added 18 points, Carsen Edwards 13, Marko Guduric 12 and Nick Calathes 10 for Fenerbahce. Yanni Wetzell led six ALBA scorers in double digits with 13 points. Yovel Zoosman added 12, Tamir Blatt had 11 while Louis Olinde, Johannes Thiemann and Ben Lammers each had 10 for the guests.

Motley and Hayes-Davis stepped up early, then DyShawn Pierre buried a three-pointer for a 12-6 Fenerbahce lead. Motley and Hayes-Davis kept pacing the hosts and Scottie Wilbekin soon made it a double-digit game, 26-15. Lammers and Thiemann helped ALBA get within 31-27 after 10 minutes. Zoosman, Gabriele Procida and Jonas Mattisseck each scored in transition to tie the game, 40-40, midway through the second quarter. Guduric struck twice from downtown, joining forces with Hayes-Davis to restore a 57-47 Fenerbahce lead at halftime. 

Hayes-Davis took over with a three-point play and Pierre sank a corner triple that broke the game open, 63-47, soon after the break. ALBA sped up, looking for quicker shots. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce kept running its offense through Motley and Hayes-Davis, who got help from Edwards to get a 20-point margin, 81-61. Nothing changed after that, as even when ALBA never gave up, Fenerbahce kept a solid double-digit margin throughout the fourth quarter, cruising to a well-deserved win.

Hayes-Davis leads Fener to 101-86 win! 

The final day of this double-week brings a top-four showdown on the French Riviera between AS Monaco and Real Madrid, with star big men Donatas Motiejunas and Walter Tavares going against each other under the rims once again.

Head-to-head on Friday: Donatas Motiejunas vs. Walter Tavares

The final day of this double-week brings a top-four showdown on the French Riviera between AS Monaco and Real Madrid, with star big men [Donatas Motiejunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/donatas-motiejunas/lcz/) and [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) going against each other under the rims once again.

Since Motiejunas returned to the EuroLeague last season, this will be the fourth head-to-head game between the two.

The first time they met last season, Real pulled out a 94-86 win as Tavares had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, while Motiejunas had 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Real completed a sweep last season by taking an 84-90 double-overtime victory in Monaco as Tavares had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Motiejunas countered with a double-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Earlier this season, Monaco pulled out a 94-95 overtime win in Madrid, with Motiejunas collecting 8 points and 3 rebounds. However, Tavares was one of the star of that game with 17 points, a club-record 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Donatas Motiejunas, Walter Tavares Top Plays from Real Madrid vs. AS Monaco, 10/13/2021 and 2 other games

Head-to-Head: Donatas Motiejunas vs. Walter Tavares

The latest head-to-head game pushed Tavares 's rebounding average in games against Motiejunas and Monaco to 10.0 and has average PIR to 19.3. Motiejunas has scored at least 8 points in each of those games, including a double-double last season at home, the same floor where tonight's game takes place.

One segment where Motiejunas has struggled when facing Real and Tavares is in two-point accuracy.

Overall, Motiejunas is making 66.1% of his two-pointers this season, following on his 63.5% accuracy last season. However, in the three games against Tavares and Real, that number went down to 47.4%.

Motiejunas has been more efficient on two-point shooting than Tavares this season and just this week scored 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting in just 20 minutes against ALBA Berlin, marking his best 2022-23 performance yet.

Tavares enters this game as the league's top shot-blocker, with 2.6 per game, while also ranking third in rebounds (7.3). However, his EuroLeague-record streak of 26 consecutive games with at least 1 blocked shot was snapped on Wednesday against Panathinaikos Athens.

With two overtime games in their most recent past and tonight's showdown full of playoff implications, expect two of the EuroLeague's best big men to be ready to make serious impact once again.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv finally picked up its first road victory of 2023 as it used a big second half to down Valencia Basket 93-94 - and that just two days after it couldn’t hold a second-half lead at FC Barcelona.

Maccabi gave up 55 first-half points to Valencia but showed its character after the break by racing ahead by 10 points midway through the third quarter. Still, Maccabi’s road nerves shined through a bit - as well as Valencia’s quality from having won five straight games - and the lead was just 1 point after 30 minutes.

The fourth quarter was bend but not break as Maccabi had an answer for every Valencia fight back. In the end, Maccabi also got a little luck as Valencia’s Chris Jones missed a potential game-winning three-pointer after Wade Baldwin threw the ball away with 3.2 seconds to play.

"It was a great team win. We needed it, man. We’ve been battling a little bit on the road," said Bonzie Colson, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in the last five games. "Hopefully we can continue this. It shows the character of our group. We don’t give up."

And Baldwin added: "We finally got a road win. It’s been a long journey, and we are happy we finally got it."

The win was doubly important considering the standings with Maccabi and Valencia even at 12-11 right on the edge of the playoffs zone, but Maccabi having swept the season series with the Spanish side.

Maccabi’s last road win dates back to Round 15 on December 22 when it knocked off ALBA Berlin 70-83.

Besides it just being a road win, the victory also shows that the team learned some lessons from its last road loss just two days early a bit further north in Spain.

Barcelona led by 11 points in the second quarter but Maccabi responded with a big third quarter to take a 10-point lead. Oded Kattash’s men were unable to fend off Barcelona and ended up losing 83-78.

"We needed it. It was crucial especially with the standings being so close. Besides that just the confidence thing of knowing we can win on the road. It was huge for us," added Jalen Adams.

Maccabi held its nerve to end road skid

Valencia Basket v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2023-02-02T19:30:00.000Z)