Round 23 roll call: Impact performances, win or lose

In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague roll call, we take a look at five players who had a big impact on their respective games in Round 22.

Jackson turned back the clock

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne went into its game at FC Bayern Munich depleted, but that did not stop it from registering a 64-76 win. ASVEL had a slow start, but veteran guard Edwin Jackson got the team going before taking control of the game in the second quarter. Jackson scored 10 of ASVEL’s first 12 points in the contest and he had 12 of his total tally of 13 before halftime. It was only the second time this season that Jackson scored in double figures, and it was also the most points Jackson had scored in a EuroLeague game since March 2019, which was 39 appearances ago. The 34-year-old veteran played a career-high 33 minutes and 42 seconds and made 3-of-5 two-pointers and 2-of-2 threes as ASVEL notched its fifth win of the season.

Nebo gave Maccabi balance in the paint

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv needed to get out of its recent funk and it did just that by beating Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 90-75 on Thursday. Josh Nebo was the one who set the tone for Maccabi with his energy from the opening tip, while his activity on the glass did not allow Maccabi to fall too far behind in the first half. Panathinaikos dominated on the boards and outrebounded Maccabi 20-11 on the offensive glass, but it was Nebo who was keeping any sort of balance in the rebounding category. Nebo tied his season high with 12 rebounds and had his second double-double of the campaign by finishing with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also delivered 2 blocks and with him on the floor Maccabi was a stunning +30, which was the highest +/- of any player in Round 23.

A career game for Kalaitzakis

In that same game, Panathinaikos guard Panagiotis Kalaitzakis had a career night. The 25-year-old, in his second season in the competition, had never scored more than 8 points in a single game, while he had scored 13 points in the entire season coming into Round 23. But against Maccabi, Kalaitzakis had 17 points, making 3-of-5 two-pointers and 3-of-6 threes, while also pulling down 3 rebounds, including a pair on the offensive glass. Kalaitzakis was scoreless in the first half, when he played just 4 minutes, but once he entered the game with 5:45 left in the third quarter, he never left the floor again. He scored 7 points in the last 3 minutes of the third quarter, then had 10 consecutive points in the fourth, single-handedly keeping Panathinaikos in range before Maccabi finally pulled away.

Motley haunted Virtus once again

There’s something about facing Virtus Segafredo Bologna that brings out the best in Johnathan Motley. On Thursday night, in an 88-75 win, the Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul center finished with 23 points against the Italian side which is just the second time this season he has gone above the 20-point barrier. The previous time? When Fenerbahce faced Virtus in Bologna, when he netted 25. Last season, Motley had 26 points at Virtus Segafredo Arena, too. In Fenerbahce’s Round 23 contest this year, 14 of his 23 points came in the first quarter and he went into the halftime break with 19 to his name. Motley certainly brings his A-game whenever he comes up against the 2021-22 BKT EuroCup champion.

Vesely’s huge night for Barcelona

FC Barcelona ended up falling 74-70 at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 23, but Jan Vesely almost inspired an incredible come-from-behind victory. The Czech big man has been back to his best this season and at the Forum he ended up scoring 28 points, which is most in a Barca jersey. That is the third-highest tally of Vesely’s 336-game EuroLeague career, having had 32 and 31 points for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, while it also beats the 27 points he scored – the fourth-best mark of his career – in El Clásico earlier this season. Vesely had 11 of Barca’s 28 points in the first half against Milan, with the Blaugrana down 47-28, but he netted 17 after the interval to inspire a comeback that almost came off. He was a +13 in the +/- column, too, which shows just how important he was in Barca’s efforts.