Markus Howard scored a season-high 28 points for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv

Markus Howard's return-to-form shooting lifted Baskonia

So far, it’s been a down year for the [2023-24 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/baskonias-markus-howard-wins-the-2023-24-alphonso-ford-top-scorer-trophy/). Not only is [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/)’s scoring down from the 19.5 points per game he averaged last season for [Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/bas/?season=2024-25), but his shooting has suffered too.

Howard entered Tuesday night’s showdown with [Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/tel/?season=2024-25) averaging just 11.5 points per game and in a shooting rut, having made just 5 of 26 threes in his last two games. He put all of those struggles to rest in Belgrade against Maccabi with a season-high 28 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting to lead his team to [an 85-95 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/howard-propels-baskonia-to-road-victory-85-95-over-maccabi/).

He set the tone early with 3 three-pointers in the first quarter, including one to cap a 0-10 run to finish the period as Baskonia took the lead for good. By halftime, Howard was up to 16 points with his only missed shot coming from the foul line!

Howard’s fine shooting was one of the reasons that head coach [Pablo Laso](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/bas/laso-pablo/) was able to call the first half "probably our best 20 minutes offensively of the year."   

Markus Howard drilled 6 threes against Maccabi

For Howard, however, the credit goes elsewhere.

"It was a total team effort. We had a lot of guys step up and we played extremely hard," he said. "I thought our defense in the second half was a lot better. Khalifa, Donta, Chima all making plays on the defensive end, getting blocks. Getting rebounds that led to fastbreaks, so we are playing aggressive. We are playing active in the passing lanes. We are very special. We wanted to feel our fastbreak and we were able to do so and that helped us get the win."

When asked about what helped him to have a big game, Howard answered: "Being aggressive, but also just my teammates looking for me and relaying to me the confidence I need to have in myself. It’s been a tough stretch here for myself, but God’s been good through it all and I am fortunate to have the organization that I’m a part of; Baskonia’s been excellent in giving me support from the beginning."

Game Videos

One of those supporting Howard has been Coach Laso, who spoke glowingly of him in the post-game press conference.

"I think he was very good overall. He did a great job on defense. He understood the game from the beginning and for sure he made shots. So when people say about Markus, 'Okay, he’s not hitting shots,' that doesn’t make me worry. Because I know that he will come back," Laso said.

"He’s a shooter. He’s a scorer. He played a very solid game in the first half, but there was always the feeling that he’s a guy to go to in the right moments and the team understood that. I think we played very solid and Markus for sure gave us that push to get a victory tonight."

As they look onward to a difficult road tilt against defending champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 17 later this week, Baskonia knows it will be a much more dangerous competitor if Howard continued shooting and scoring the way he did on Tuesday.

Game News

He finished with a season-high 28 points in victory over Maccabi 

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-12-17T19:05:00.000Z)

Reigning EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens erupted on Tuesday night behind the might of Kendrick Nunn to record a 103-74 thrashing of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan at OAKA Altion in Round 16

Kendrick Nunn enjoyed record night at OAKA

Reigning EuroLeague champion [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-bc-athens/roster/pan/?season=2024-25) erupted on Tuesday night behind the might of [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) to record [a 103-74 thrashing](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/nunns-39-points-leads-panathinaikos-past-milan-103-74/) of [EA7 Emporio Armani Milan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/ea7-emporio-armani-milan/roster/mil/) at OAKA Altion in Round 16.

The Greens set the tone in a historic first quarter with a 38-15 margin in the opening 10 minutes. Nunn provided the fireworks, making 7 three-pointers in that first quarter, which set a new competition record for most three-pointers in a quarter. Six players had shared the previous mark with 6 three-pointers in a quarter: [Thomas Kelati](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/thomas-kelati/000545/), [Marcelinho Huertas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marcelinho-huertas/juj/), [Linas Kleiza](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/linas-kleiza/001925/), [Jaycee Carroll](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jaycee-carroll/001960/), [Kyle Kuric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kyle-kuric/005789/) and [Mario Hezonja](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mario-hezonja/003108/). Nunn is now ahead of this pack.

Moreover, Nunn's 21 points tied for the highest individual score ever in a quarter. Before him, [Toney Douglas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/toney-douglas/008152/) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter for [Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/anadolu-efes-istanbul/roster/ist/?season=2017-18) against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on [January 19, 2018](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2017-18/anadolu-efes-istanbul-fenerbahce-dogus-istanbul/E2017/149/#boxscore). Fenerbahce won the game 84-89.

Nunn hit seven three-pointers in the first quarter. An all-time record!

Nunn sets EuroLeague record

Panathinaikos shattered its club record for most points in the first quarter, besting the 33 points it had [against Khimki Moscow Region](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2018-19/panathinaikos-opap-athens-khimki-moscow-region/E2018/183/#boxscore) in the 2018-19 season.

Nunn finished the game with a career-high 39 points, 7 rebounds and a personal-best PIR of 37. It was his first 30+ point game in the competition: his previous scoring best was [29 against FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/panathinaikos-wins-thriller-against-barcelona-90-89/) two weeks ago. He missed a chance to set the club record for most points in a game. [Tyrese Rice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tyrese-rice/003367/) still holds the record with 41 points in a 99-93 home win against Olympiacos Piraeus on [December 6, 2019](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2019-20/panathinaikos-opap-athens-olympiacos-piraeus/E2019/107/#boxscore). It was this season's most points scored in a game, too.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He is… INEVITABLE! 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/nunnbetter_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nunnbetter_</a> scored 39 points with EIGHT 3pointers! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheGreens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheGreens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobcaktor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobcaktor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LiveTheGreenMagic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LiveTheGreenMagic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Club1908?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Club1908</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneClubOneApp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneClubOneApp</a> <a href="https://t.co/UzDHDz3xkq">pic.twitter.com/UzDHDz3xkq</a></p>&mdash; Panathinaikos BC (@Paobcgr) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paobcgr/status/1869134924445597929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Milan arrived to OAKA on a six-game winning streak but was overwhelmed, especially in the first and fourth quarters. Panathinaikos outrebounded Milan 40-21, made 17 of 32 three-pointers (53.1%) and had 26 assists, 11 more than its opponent. After the game, Nunn celebrated his great performances, but said that he believes that the best is yet to come.

"We needed that one. We needed that energy, that spark, and we are moving in the right direction. We are in a double week- We are going to take this victory and shelve it, and we got another one on Thursday," Nunn said. "It was a statement night. We started off defensively very well and that's what ignites our offense. So we keep that up, we will be good."

Milan head coach [Ettore Messina](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/ea7-emporio-armani-milan/mil/messina-ettore/) joked about the fact that Nunn was suspended in Round 15 and had a career-best performances against his team.

"Hopefully, if you pass me the joke, next time we play \[against\] Nunn, we hope that the EuroLeague doesn't make him nervous with suspension or whatever because man, he was all over the place tonight," Messina said. "So congratulations to them, and we move on."

The guard was magnificent in the first quarter to set the tone for Panathinaikos 

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2024-12-17T19:15:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL rallied in the second half to stun KK Partizan 79-82 at Belgrade Arena on Tuesday night and grab its first road win of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

ASVEL stuns Partizan for first road win, 79-82

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne rallied in the second half to stun Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 79-82 at Belgrade Arena on Tuesday night. This was ASVEL's first road win of the season and it saw the team improve to a 7-9 record, the same as Partizan, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

Partizan led 51-42 in the third quarter, but ASVEL netted 7 three-pointers on 8 attempts in the third quarter to take a 65-66 lead, and it never trailed the rest of the way. Theo Maledon paced the winners with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Joffrey Lauvergne collected 17 points plus 9 rebounds, Nando De Colo scored 14 and Melvin Ajinca added 10 for ASVEL. Duane Washington had 22 points and 8 assists for Partizan, Tyrique Jones had 16 points and Sterling Brown scored 15 in a losing effort.

Lauvergne and Maledon scored all of ASVEL's points in a game-opening 2-11 run, including Maleon's triple. Koprivica ignited Partizan with a pair of dunks and a block, while a triple apiece from Brown and Isaac Bonga got the hosts within 14-16. The hosts went in front 20-19 on a fast-break dunk from Brown, but Lauvergne continued troubling Partizan in the paint and a three-pointer from Melvin Ajinca got ASVEL a 21-24 lead after 10 minutes.

Neal Sako dominated inside in the opening moments of the second quarter, stringing together 7 points to open a 22-31 lead. But Tyrique Jones and Washington had back-to-back three-point plays, and Washington remained hot, scoring four times taking the ball to the rim. His basket put Partizan up 38-37, then his floater and a triple to finish the half made it 45-39 at the break.

Tyrique Jones and Washington extended the margin to 51-42, but back-to-back threes from Maledon and Paris Lee started ASVEL's rally. Another triple from Maledon cut the deficit to 53-51. Bonga nailed a triple for the hosts, but Maledon had a layup high off the glass and De Colo netted a three to tie the game at 58-58. Brown answered with a three-pointer, but ASVEL ended the quarter with back-to-back threes from De Colo and Ajinca, the latter being a buzzer-beater to give the visitors a 65-66 lead after 30 minutes.

De Colo with a jumper and Lauvergne with a tip-in opened 65-70. Brown hit a triple to make it a single-point game, but Lauvegne had another tip-in and Maledon beat the shot clock with a corner triple to give the visitor 69-75 margin. Washington took it to the rim, but Sako scored after another offensive rebound. Tyrique Jones's dunk made it 73-77 with 4:35 to go, but teams did not make another field goal until Carlik Jones made a jumper with 1:43 left and 76-78. Partizan had a possession to tie, but Carlik Jones missed a jumper, only for De Colo to hit a second-chance step-back with 12.6 seconds left, as ASVEL pulled out a win.

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2024-12-17T19:45:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas extended its winning streak to three games as it defeated ALBA Berlin 66-86 on the road

Zalgiris brushes past ALBA, 66-86, for third straight win

Zalgiris Kaunas extended its winning streak to three games as it defeated ALBA Berlin 66-86 on the road. Zalgiris took control of the game with a 2-22 run spanning the first two quarters to improve to 10-6 including 4-4 away from home.

Sylvain Francisco paced the Lithuanian side with 16 points while Lonnie Walker tallied 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for Zalgiris, which has won two straight road games after a previous three-game road losing skid. ALBA has now lost three in a row and six of its last seven for a 3-13 record. David McCormack scored a career-high 19 points and Yanni Wetzell added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss.

Zalgiris got on the board first and twice was evened by ALBA before Francisco converted a three-point play and three-pointer for a 7-12 early cushion. Deividas Sirvydis and Brady Manek sandwiched triples around 4 Ignas Brazdeikis points in a 0-12 run over the final 4:17 minutes of the first quarter for a 10-24 Zalgiris lead.

Zalgiris scored the first 4 points of the second quarter to increase the run to 0-16 to go up 10-28. After Trevion Williams ended ALBA’s 6-minute scoreless drought, Manek and Walker went back-to-back from deep and the advantage swelled to 12-34. Dovydas Giedraitis’s three-point play had Zalgiris still up 20-41 before ALBA scored 8 straight points for a 28-41 gap. Zalgiris led 30-45 at the break.

ALBA started the second half in good fashion with the first 6 points to make it a single-digit deficit at 36-45. Zalgiris needed more than 2 minutes to score but had the next 6 points to re-establish a 15-point gap. The Zalgiris defense was back up to speed and triples by Sirvydis and Francisco made it 42-63. Manek added a third three-pointer and the score was 46-69 after 30 minutes.

Zalgiris did not let ALBA really cut into the margin in the final frame, leading 49-75. Not even a quick 5 points to make it 54-72 with 5 minutes left helped. The hosts did not get closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

Zalgiris's offense is slowly waking up with three straight 85-plus point showings in victories 

ALBA Berlin v Zalgiris Kaunas (2024-12-17T19:45:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona defeated Fenerbahce Beko 90-63 in Round 16's Rivalry Series game, spoiling Saras Jasikevicius's first return to Palau Blaugrana in the process.

Kevin Punter shines as Barcelona steamrolls Fenerbahce, 90-63

FC Barcelona gave its under-pressure head coach Joan Penarroya some breathing space and improved to 9-7 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with a 90-63 home drubbing of Saras Jasikevicius’s Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (10-6) on the back of a game-high 25 points from Kevin Punter.

Justin Anderson was perfect from the floor and the foul line as he added 18 points for the home team while Jabari Parker chipped in with 15 points and 7 boards, as Barcelona hit top gear in the second half after carving out a 44-37 lead in the first.

Barca gained the upper hand in the first quarter, 20-12, thanks to ironclad defense which saw Fenerbahce struggle from all over, shooting 3 of 10 from inside and 2 of 7 from deep in the wake of the home side’s aggressive half-court pressure.

The visitors conjured a 0-8 run to slash the deficit to 24-22 early in the second but then suffered a blow as Wade Baldwin limped off the court with what looked like a recurring hamstring injury, leaving Fenerbahce’s already shorthanded unit decimated.

Having led 44-37 at halftime, Barcelona duly took advantage and raced clear in the third quarter as Punter, who finished the first half on 10 points, added another 8 including a pair of early three-pointers from the baseline. The hosts were in cruise control, 65-53, ahead of the final 10 minutes before romping away with some spectacular plays down the stretch.

There was no way back for Fenerbahce in the fourth as Punter nailed the opening 5 points of the quarter for Barca and the writing was on the wall for the visitors after an 8-0 run gave the home team an unassailable 75-57 lead in the closing stages.

There was even time for the jugular in the dying minutes as Punter facilitated a pair of monster dunks for Anderson, putting the icing on the cake for the *Azulgrana*.

The guard led the charge as the Spanish giant ran riot in the second half

FC Barcelona v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-12-17T19:30:00.000Z)

Real Madrid ended its three-game losing streak by beating Paris Basketball 85-96 on Tuesday night at Adidas Arena

Real Madrid defeats Shorts-less Paris, 85-96

Real Madrid ended its three-game losing streak by beating Paris Basketball 85-96 on Tuesday night at Adidas Arena. With their top scorer and best assist producer, TJ Shorts, missing out due to illness, the hosts saw Real Madrid lead for the last 32 minutes of the duel despite Maodo Lo stepping up big time in his teammate's absence. With the win, *Los Blancos* improved to 7-9, with Paris dropping to 11-5.

Facundo Campazzo paced Real Madrid with 19 points, Mario Hezonja scored 17, Dzanan Musa had 12 and Gabriel Deck added 11. Alberto Abalde and Walter Tavares netted 10 points each, with the latter completing a double-double by recording 14 rebounds. Lo led all scorers with a season-high 30 points, but it wasn’t enough. Nadir Hifi scored 21 points and Collin Malcolm had 11 in a losing effort.

Lo opened the scoring with a layup before triples from both Tyson Ward and the Paris guard gave the hosts an 8-2 lead. Then, Lo and Eli Ndiaye traded buckets before 4 points by Musa brought Real Madrid within 10-9. Hifi opened his account from inside, but Andres Feliz responded with a basket off the glass before Tavares put the visitors ahead with an alley-oop slam, 12-13. After Hifi nailed one from deep, Abalde scored inside and Campazzo drained a corner triple for a 15-18 cushion. Then, Hezonja and Campazzo netted from deep before the latter nailed a layup to make it 17-26 after 10 minutes.

A Collin Malcolm bucket was followed by another triple from Hezonja for Real Madrid’s first double-digit lead, 19-29. Ward drilled one from downtown before setting up Malcolm for a three-point play that cut the deficit to 25-29. But Hezonja’s long two was followed by Campazzo’s third triple of the night to restore a 25-34 lead. A three-point play from Kevarrius Hayes and a couple of Hifi free throws cut the difference to 30-34. Hezonja nailed another three, but Malcolm scored inside to bring Paris within 36-37. Campazzo responded with a three-point play before back-to-back triples from Sergio Llull restored a 38-46 lead. Triples from Hifi and Lo were followed by an off-balance jumper from the former and a buzzer-beating layup from the latter, who trimmed the deficit to 48-52 at the break.

Lo and Hayes netted inside to tie it, but Abalde hit a corner three to put Real Madrid back in front, 53-55. Four straight layups from Musa allowed the visitors to pull away, 58-65. Paris was held scoreless for 5-and-a-half minutes before Lo converted twice inside to trim the deficit to 62-68. After Leopold Cavaliere netted a triple, a buzzer-beating jumper from Hifi brought Paris within 67-70 heading into the closing quarter.

Lo drilled a triple to take his tally to 26 points and tied it for Paris. Yet, Feliz and Gabriel Deck responded from inside before a triple by Llull and a dunk from Tavares extended Real Madrid’s lead to 73-80. A bucket from Lo was followed by a triple by Hifi. Campazzo replied with a three-point play on the other end to set a 78-83 lead. Then, Hezonja netted 5 unanswered points before 3 free throws from Deck sealed it for the visitors. 

The win snapped Los Blancos’s three-game slide

Paris Basketball v Real Madrid (2024-12-17T19:30:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens left no doubt about its power by thrashing EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 103-74 at OAKA Altion in Round 16 on Tuesday. 


Nunn's 39 points leads Panathinaikos past Milan, 103-74!

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens left no doubt about its power by thrashing EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 103-74 at OAKA Altion in Round 16 on Tuesday. Both teams now have 9-7 records in the standings. The result also  put an end to Milan's six-game winning streak. 

Kendrick Nunn paced the winners with a career-high and EuroLeague season-high 39 points. He set a EuroLeague record with 7 three-pointer in the first quarter. Jerian Grant added 12 points for Panathinaikos. Nikola Mirotic led Milan with 16 points. Neno Dimitrijevic added 15 while Nico Mannion and Shavon Shields each had 11 for the visitors.

Juancho Hernangomez got Panathinaikos going with a layup and Grant scored twice in a 14-0 game-opening run highlighted by Nunn's ankle-breaking three-pointers, which sent Giampaolo Ricci and then Shields to the ground. Mirotic stepped up with a put-back layup that Nunn bettered with a bomb from downtown. Hernangomez took over with a put-back dunk and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis added a fastbreak basket that broke the game open, 21-4. Mirotic struck from downtown but an unstoppable Nunn buried three more shots from beyond the arc for a 33-9 score. Fabien Causeur joined the three-point shootout, Grant scored in penetration and Nunn sank his record-setting seventh triple. Dimitrijevic made a three to fix the score at 38-15 after 10 minutes.

Dimitrijevic kept pushing Milan early in the second quarter. Grant and Konstantinos Mitoglou each answered from beyond the arc for a 44-19 Panathinaikos cushion. Omer Yurtseven followed an alley-oop slam with a put-back layup and Cedi Osman nailed an off-balance shot that made it 50-21. Yurtseven added a jump hook, Mitoglou scored a fastbreak layup and Nunn boosted the lead to 56-24. Freddie Gillespie made a jump hook and Mannion added a floater for Milan. Nunn scored again and then Mannion and Shields each made a triple to get the visitors within 59-36. After Kostas Sloukas buried a three-pointer, Mirotic answered with a tip-in. Shields's buzzer-beating layup fixed the halftime score at 62-40.

Zach Leday took over with a power layup soon after the break. Nunn sank a mid-range jumper and Kalaitzakis added a corner triple for a 67-42 Panathinaikos margin. Mirotic answered from downtown, Nunn scored in the low post, then Mannion got Milan a bit closer, 69-48. Shields beat the shot clock with a jump hook and erased Lorenzo Brown's acrobatic shot with a driving layup. Mirotic stepped up with a fastbreak layup and Dimitrijevic swished a jumper that gave Milan hope at 74-56. Mathias Lessort stepped up for the Greens and Grant hit a high-arching three-pointer for a 79-58 Panathinaikos lead. Leday's poster dunk got the visitors within 79-60 after 30 minutes.

Nunn sank his eighth three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Mitoglou also struck from beyond the arc to seal the outcome, 85-60. Nunn and Mannion exchanged floaters, then Sloukas took over with back-to-back three-pointers, as thousands of Panathinaikos fans sang Nunn's name out loud. Panathinaikos started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Yurtseven finished one of those with a three-pointer, Mirotic scored in penetration and Nunn gave the Greens a 99-66 lead with 2:40 left. Lessort put the Greens over the 100-point mark and Nunn rounded out a near-perfect performance in style with another jumper.

Nunn set a EuroLeague record with 7 three-pointers in the first quarter

Nunn's 39 points leads Panathinaikos past Milan, 103-74

AS Monaco overcame a double-digit first-half deficit then used a big third quarter en route to a 93-74 win over visiting FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday night

Monaco eases past Bayern, 93-74

AS Monaco overcame a double-digit first-half deficit then used a big third quarter en route to a 93-74 win over visiting FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. Monaco won its third straight game and improved to 11-5. For Bayern, which dropped to 10-6, this was its fourth consecutive road loss.

Bayern led by 11 points at the start of the second quarter, but Monaco turned the game around before using a 20-5 run in the third to pull away for good. Georgios Papagiannis paced Monaco with 14 points, Mike James scored 13, Matthew Strazel and Jordan Loyd had 11 apiece, and Elie Okobo 10 points in the win. Carsen Edwards had 17 points for the visitors, Johannes Voigtmann 13 and Danko Brankovic 11 points in defeat.

Motiejunas scored twice from close range and James had a three-pointer to give the hosts an early 9-4 lead, but Brankovic made a three-point play and Edwards a three-pointer. After another basket from Motiejunas, that got his tally to 8 points, Bayern went on a 0-10 run with Nick Weiler-Babb and Devin Booker scoring easy fastbreak baskets and Giffey adding a tough jumper to help open a 13-20 lead. A triple from Voigtmann extended the margin, but Papagiannis had a three-point play that helped make it 18-24 at the end of one.

Voigtmann scored inside and another one from the outside to lead 18-29 after 42 seconds of the second quarter, but Papagiannis scored 5 points, including a triple, and Blossomgame scored to close to 25-29. Monaco's charge continued with 5 points from Okobo and another basket from Papagiannis to get the hosts in front 32-31. Weiler-Babb snapped a 14-2 spurt with a triple, but Jordan Loyd and Mathew Strazel, the latter with a three-pointer, got Monaco to a 42-34 lead. Edwards ended Bayern's drought, but the hosts remained in front and held a 46-40 cushion at halftime.

Loyd and Motiejunas scored early for Monaco, but Brankovic had a basket inside and Edwards a pair of three-pointers that got the visitors within 52-51. But James answered with a triple, and Tarpey finished a pair of fast breaks to open a 59-51 lead. Voigtmann snapped a 7-0 run with a triple but Blossomgame and Jaiteh kept the hosts at a safe distance, before a three-point play from Okobo opened a double-digit lead. James's triple helped extend it to 72-56 in the penultimate minute of the third quarter. Thanks to a Strazel triple, Monaco took a 77-60 advantage into the final quarter.

Strazel and Okobo each had a baseline basket to help open an 83-62 lead and Loyd's three-pointer made it 91-65. Onuralp Bitim had a pair of three-pointers for the visitors, as the rhythm slowed down and Monaco cruised to a big win.

Coach Spanoulis's side has won its last three games by a combined margin of 69 points!

AS Monaco v FC Bayern Munich (2024-12-17T18:00:00.000Z)

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz used a 0-10 run to close the first quarter and never looked back en route to an 85-95 victory over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Tuesday night at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade. 

Howard propels Baskonia to road victory, 85-95, over Maccabi 

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz used a 0-10 run to close the first quarter and never looked back en route to an 85-95 victory over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Tuesday night at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade. The winners outrebounded Maccabi 25-40 and shot 12 for 26 from downtown (46.2%) in two of the keys to the victory that lifted Baskonia’s record to 7-9, while dropping Maccabi to 4-12. 

Markus Howard led the way with 28 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting and Chima Moneke tallied 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Baskonia. Tadas Sedekerskis posted 12 points and 9 rebounds, Nikos Rogkavopoulos added 11 and 7 and Donta Hall scored 10 for the winners. Rokas Jokubaitis paced Maccabi with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Roman Sorkin also scored 22, Tamir Blatt amassed 14 points and 7 assists and Jaylen Hoard scored 14, too.

Little separated the teams in the early going with Hoard and Moneke leading their respective sides. Blatt stepped up with back-to-back three-pointers to give Maccabi a 15-10 lead. Wenyen Gabriel had to leave the game early to receive stitches on a cut on his hand and would not return. Hall came alive with 5 quick points for Baskonia to even things. Sorkin made an impact off the bench for Maccabi though Howard’s hot shooting kept the teams square, 21-21. A triple by Kamar Baldwin nudged Baskonia in front and then Rogkavopoulos heated up. Howard drained a triple to cap a 0-10 Baskonia run to lead 23-34 after 10 minutes.

More threes by Rogkavopoulos and Howard extended the margin to 15 points just 90 seconds into the second quarter. Sedekerskis joined the three-point shootout to make it 27-43. Baskonia had made 8 of 10 three-pointers to this point, while Maccabi was 2 of 8 from behind the arc. Led by Jokubaitis and Sorkin, Maccabi chipped away at the deficit, but Sedekerskis and co. remained comfortably ahead. Blatt narrowed the gap to 10, but Baskonia pulled away again as Sander Raiste connected from deep. A free throw by Sorkin made it 43-57 at the break.

Jokubaitis shined early in the second half with a layup and an assist to Hoard for a slam, but Baskonia seemed to have an answer for nearly every basket. After Sedekerskis made an uncontested fastbreak dunk for a 50-65 lead, Sorkin helped Maccabi to a 6-0 spurt, which resulted in a Baskonia timeout. The visitors quickly regrouped behind Moneke and Howard and stretched the lead to 17 on a Sedekerskis free throw. Marial Shayok made it 60-75 at the end of the quarter.

A triple by Blatt to start the fourth quarter was not a sign of things to come for Maccabi. Howard and Moneke kept Baskonia cruising. Khalifa Diop threw down a monster fastbreak slam and Howard’s sixth three-pointer took the lead to a game-high 19 points. A late flurry of points from Jokubaitis got Maccabi within 10 in the penultimate minute of the game, but that was as close as it would get as Baskonia preserved the victory.

Baskonia dominated the glass and shot well from deep to win in Belgrade 