AS Monaco came within 1 offensive rebound of a club record on Tuesday in holding off UNICS Kazan.
Telling numbers: Offensive rebounds saved Monaco
Monaco collected 17 offensive boards, with 7 of them coming in the fourth quarter. Donta Hall led the way with 5 offensive rebounds, the last of which became a basket via goaltending to give his team a 74-70 lead with a little more than 2 minutes remaining. Alpha Diallo and Donatas Motiejunas each grabbed 4 offensive boards and each was responsible for second-points in the fourth quarter; Diallo with a basket and Motiejunas via an assist to Leo Westermann.
That dominance of the glass proved to be significant in a game that saw UNICS erase a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game in the final minute. Monaco only outrebounded UNICS 41-36 and allowed 13 offensive boards – and 13 second-chance points. However, Monaco controlled the glass 12-7 in the fourth quarter and none of UNICS’s offensive rebounds came in the last 10 minutes.
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