The backcourt duo combined for 48 points against the battling visitors, who rallied to force overtime.
Kevin Punter, James Nunnally steered Partizan past Monaco
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Regular Season
Round 12 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade ground out an emotional 89-85 overtime home win over AS Monaco largely thanks to guards Kevin Punter and James Nunnally, who scored 25 and 23 points, respectively, to give the Serbian team the edge.
The physical contest littered with fouls was hardly a classic, but it produced plenty of thrills and spills, with the lead changing hands time and again. Partizan looked home and dry after taking a 70-66 lead with 22 seconds left on the clock in regulation, but the hosts were forced into overtime by Mike James.
The Monaco guard, who endured a poor shooting night as he made only 4 of 15 shots from the field, drilled a pair of three-pointers in the closing stages, including an audacious one from way downtown in Nunnally’s face.
Nunnally later heaped praise on James – and on his own teammates.
“Damn, Mike hit a tough shot,” Nunnally said in his first reaction as he walked off the floor. “I wanted to foul him but he made one hell of a shot. We came through in the end, executed late and made some stops. It worked out great for us. A shout out to my teammates, everybody contributed,” he added.
Struggles in the paint
Partizan missed center Frank Kaminsky through a back injury but Brazilian Bruno Caboclo compensated for his absence with 9 first-half points. However, Caboclo also committed 3 fouls and sat out the lion’s share of the second half, which allowed Donatas Moteijunas to run riot and pace the visitors with 23 points.
Partizan made a bright start and took an 11-2 lead before rugged defending set the tone for the rest of the strength-sapping contest. The hosts hit top gear again when the chips were down, with Punter hitting a crunch three-pointer to give them an 80-76 lead in overtime.
The home team closed the game out for its second successive overtime win after beating Panathinaikos Athens 92-87 at the same venue in Round 11, when Punter returned to action from a leg injury. Partizan’s captain was as delighted as he was exhausted after forcing Monaco into submission.
“We kept fighting and that was the key to victory,” he said. “We made some plays in the end and that was it.”
Going up a gear on offense
Partizan’s head coach Zeljko Obradovic said improved second-half offense was crucial after the visitors led 32-35 at halftime. “The first half was our worst offensive half of the season and stepping up our offense after the break was the key,” he told the post-game press conference. “Monaco also had 9 offensive boards in the first half and only 5 in the second and overtime, which means we played good defense too.”
Partizan completes its three-game home stand against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 13 on Thursday, while Monaco visits Zalgiris Kaunas.