The French side fought back to win its first EuroLeague game of the season after opening two defeats.
Resilient Monaco forced Zvezda into submission as James hit top gear
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AS Monaco got off the mark in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season after a gritty 76-82 win at Crvena Zvezda Medridianbet Belgrade. In particular, a vintage performance from Monaco guard Mike James overshadowed Kemba Walker’s cameo debut in Europe’s premier club basketball competition.
James led Monaco with 18 points and most of them came at crunch moments in the second half, when the visitors repelled Zvezda’s efforts to turn the game around after the home side had thrown away a 44-38 halftime lead.
Just as crucially, Zvezda point guards Milos Teodosic and Shabazz Napier were ground to a halt by Monaco’s aggressive defense, which confined the duo to a combined total of 10 points on 2-of-14 shooting from three-point range.
Zvezda relied on towering Lithuanian Rokas Giedraits, who fired on all cylinders in the first quarter when he sank 14 points, but he managed only 6 points in the remaining three periods. Nemanja Nedovic added 15 points for Zvezda and Joel Bolomboy chipped in with 11, but the hosts were undone by 23 team assists dished out by their rivals.
Kemba Walker’s EuroLeague debut
Alpha Diallo scored 12 points for Monaco while John Brown and Elie Okobo added 11 apiece, making light of Walker’s forgettable evening which prompted visiting coach Sasa Obradovic to stress that the former four-time NBA All-Star was far from his best shape.
“It’s his first game after a long time, I am not even sure when was the last time he played,” Obradovic said during Wednesday’s post-game press conference.
“It’s pretty obvious he’s not had a competitive game in a while and he probably lacks some match fitness, too, but he is willing to work hard to reproduce some of his NBA form. I am very glad to have a player and a character like him on the team.”
Plagued by injuries in the past few years, Walker came off the bench and scored just 2 points in 10:19 minutes on the court, having sank a pair of free throws and missed all three of his shots from the floor.
Despite Walker’s limited impact, Monaco executed Obradovic’s game plan to perfection against his former club, as the visiting team’s aggressive half-court pressure disrupted Zvezda’s transition of the ball and forced a barrage of tough shots which came to nothing.
Monaco shot the ball better
The home side hit only 10-of-34 three-pointers (29.4% 3FG) and 17-of-33 from two-point territory (51.5% 2FG), so its 16 offensive rebounds meant little in the big picture because Zvezda converted preciously few second-chance opportunities.
In contrast, Monaco nailed 10-of-23 shots from behind the arc (43.5% 3FG) and 21-of-35 from two-point range (60% 2FG), while it also collected five rebounds more than Zvezda (30-35).
The visitors were well worth their win in one of the most intimidating EuroLeague venues, although former Zvezda stalwart Obradovic was given a standing ovation from the home fans when he stepped out onto the sidelines.
Obradovic’s men then made sure Zvezda failed to pull the red carpet from under his feet and can now look forward to their next home game against ALBA Berlin on Friday night.