Round 32 roll call: Coming up clutch

In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague roll call, we take a look at five players that had a big impact on their respective games in Round 32.

Sumner made sure Zalgiris stayed alive

Zalgiris guard Edmond Sumner could hardly have chosen a better night for the best game so far in his short EuroLeague career. Faced with elimination at home, Zalgiris needed to win by more than 6 points, but trailed steadily into the early third quarter. That's when Sumner combined with Keenan Evans to put Zalgiris in front for good. When Milan crept within 72-68 with 4 minutes left, his three-pointer punctuated a 9-0 Zalgiris response that sealed the deal. Sumner scored 14 of his 17 points in that last quarter-and-a-half, missed but a free throw all night, and posted 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. All in just over 15 minutes on court.

Williams-Goss broke Partizan hearts

Nigel Williams-Goss will always be special to Partizan, his original EuroLeague club, for his heartfelt pre-game address to the fans there following Belgrade's school shooting tragedy during last year's playoffs. But if those fans don't see Williams-Goss on another team with a ball in his hands soon, they'll be happy. Their former point guard helped orchestrate a 14-point comeback over the game's final 13 minutes for a stunning 69-74 road win by Olympiacos on Thursday. In that stretch, Williams-Goss scored 10 of his 17 points and nabbed 2 of his 5 steals to help turn the game around make Partizan's hopes of reaching the postseason that much more difficult.

Larkin led Efes to a huge road triumph

Shane Larkin stepped up to the plate once again and, in what felt like a must-win situation, guided Anadolu Efes Istanbul to a crucial 76-97 road victory at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. In Efes's first road win of 2024, and largest in 15 months, Larkin scored 28 points, making 3 of 4 two-pointers, 5 of 9 threes and all 7 of his free throws. The 31-year-old also had 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds. It was a massive bounce-back performance from Larkin, who one week earlier had played through an illness but ended up going scoreless for just the third time in his 216 career appearances. This time, his performance led to a 21-point win, which put Efes in the driver's seat in the race for the Play-In Showdown.

Diallo did everything for Monaco

AS Monaco had to fight hard to come back and beat its French League rival LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 77-87 on Thursday. Alpha Diallo had his fingers all over his side's win, which inched the Monegasques closer to both a playoff berth and home-court advantage. Diallo played a team-high 30 minutes and 33 seconds, scoring 15 points – the second most on the team – on 5-for-6 two-point shooting. He picked up 3 steals and was active on the defensive glass, where he pulled down 5 of his 6 rebounds. He also dished 3 assists and had a +17 in the plus/minus column. His PIR of 26 was the highest of any Monaco player and the best for Diallo since Round 7, when he had a 27 PIR, also against ASVEL.

Motley dominated the paint against ALBA

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul center Johnathan Motley ended up being overshadowed by a record-breaking 50-point game by teammate Nigel Hayes-Davis, but the center was as dominant as they come in a 103-68 win over ALBA Berlin. In just 14 minutes on the floor, Motley scored 18 points, shooting 5 for 5 on two-pointers and 8 for 9 from the free-throw line as a result of drawing 8 fouls. He pulled down 5 rebounds, had 2 steals and 1 block. ALBA had no answers for Motley any time he was on the floor.