Seven games take place on Tuesday, followed by three on Wednesday
Game Center: Panathinaikos triumphs in Paris; Valencia among 6 to win at home
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Tuesday, November 11
Dubai Basketball 102-86 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Dubai Basketball remained undefeated at Coco-Cola Arena this season with a 102-86 victory over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in the Round 10 opener on Tuesday. Kenan Kamenjas exploded for 20 points, McKinley Wright tallied 18 points and 6 assists and Aleksa Avramovic scored 17 off the bench in his season debut as Dubai improved to 4-6.
Ebuka Izundu paced Zvezda with 16 points before limping of with an apparent ankle injury and Semi Ojeleye added 15. Zvezda, which was without Chima Moneke, saw its seven game winning streak snapped as it fell to 7-3.
Kamenjas made his present felt early and then Avramovic joined in as Dubai jumped out to a fast start and led 29-21 after 10 minutes. Zvezda opened the second quarter on a 2-13 charge and went ahead on a Nikola Kalinic triple. Dubai regained control and held a 51-47 halftime edge. Wright scored twice in a 9-2 run to open the third quarter as Dubai established a double-digit lead. Zvezda fought its way back to within 2 and trailed by just 4 heading into the final quarter. However, Dubai erupted for 33 points in the final stanza to pull away for good and register the victory.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 84-75 Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul overcame Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 84-75 at SAP Garden in Munich, Germany, improving to 5-5. In a back-and-forth game, Fenerbahce built a 20-point lead before Maccabi clawed their way back in the second half, capitalizing on second-chance opportunities and briefly taking the lead in the fourth quarter. However, Fenerbahce regained momentum down the stretch and, with the help of the crowd, secured the win.
Wade Baldwin led Fenerbahce with 17 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Devon Hall followed with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Talen Horton-Tucker added 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Bonzie Colson contributed 12 points. For Maccabi, Roman Sorkin posted 22 points and 8 rebounds, while Jaylen Hoard recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv 114-89 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Hapoel IBI Tel Avi remained top of the EuroLeague standings by thrashing Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 114-89 at Arena 8888 in Sofia on Tuesday night. The hosts led from start to finish, demonstrating their offensive prowess from the off.
Following a tight affair in the first quarter, Hapoel pulled away, taking a 58-48 lead into the second half. A 2-11 run fueled by Hamidou Diallo brought the visitors within 71-66, but Elijah Bryant singlehandedly restored a double-digit lead which was maintained by Hapoel until the final whistle. The Israeli side improved its record to 8-2, with Baskonia dropping to 3-7 after its three-game winning streak came to an end.
Bryant went 8-for-12 from the field and led all scorers with 24 points, which he paired with 9 rebounds. Antonio Blakeney and Chris Jones netted 15 each. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot paced Baskonia with 19 points and Mamadi Diakite added 13.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 78-76 AS Monaco
Partizan held on for a dramatic 78-76 home win over AS Monaco and snapped its four-game losing streak, improving to 4-6 after Duane Washington poured 22 points while Aleksej Pokusevski added 17 to go with 7 boards. Monaco, which saw its three-game winning run ended, dropped to 6-4. Nikola Mirotic paced the visitors as he sank 17 points while Mike James and Alpha Diallo netted 13 apiece.
Roared on by a fervent home crowd, Partizan got off to a lively start as the inspired Washington scored 11 of the home team’s opening 15 points to engineer a 15-4 lead before Monaco hit back to turn the tide and nose ahead 19-20 at the end of the first quarter. Former Monaco guard Nick Calathes got Partizan going in the second with 5 successive points and a tit-for-tat battle ensued as the lead kept changing hands in a physical contest. Driven by a Sterling Brown three-pointer, Partizan carved out a 36-32 advantage at halftime on the back of ironclad defense.
Partizan surged ahead in the third quarter and led 64-49 ahead of the final 10 minutes, having hit a flurry of three-pointers after the break. The hosts looked in complete control after more good shooting from beyond the arc extended the their advantage to 74-54 before Monaco conjured an incredible 0-22 streak to nose ahead 74-76, setting up a grandstand finale. In an error-strewn last 2 minutes, Partizan somehow forced the final twist to come out on top in a heart-stopping rollercoaster.
Virtus Bologna 99-89 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Virtus Bologna put on an unforgettable display in their penultimate appearance at the Paladozza on Tuesday night. Dusko Ivanovic’s men pulled off a 99-89 win over a stubborn Anadolu Efes Istanbul team, breaking their three-point record in the process.
Virtus opened up an early lead, which it held for most of the half, sparked by Matt Morgan, who came off the bench to add a scoring punch. As the players left for the locker room, the hosts led by 3. An incredible shoot-out started in the third quarter, as both sides let it fly from deep. Morgan hit a pair of threes to open the fourth quarter, widening the gap for the home team. However, just when they started to pull away, Efes pushed back, staying in the game through aggressive offense.
As the clock ticked away, a minute of pure defensive hustle and execution in transition down the stretch saw Virtus open up a double-digit lead out of nowhere. Carsen Edward made an incomprehensible deep shot in the final minutes to punctuate their dominance, inspiring the fans to erupt into song.
Basketball City celebrated, as their team broke the club record for three-pointers made. They scored 18 from 84, improving on their previous record of 16 against Monaco in 2023.
Alen Smailagic recorded 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while making 5 of his 7 attempts from downtown. Carsen Edwards led the way in scoring for the victors with 21, Morgan’s 13 played a huge role and Luca Vildoza earned a game-high 7 dishes. The 10-point victory means that the Black V move to 5-5, while Efes slides to 3-7 in their EuroLeague campaign.
Valencia Basket 89-76 Real Madrid
Valencia led for the entirety of the second half as it beat Real Madrid 89-76 on Tuesday night, a result that means Las Taronjas are 2-0 against Spanish teams this season. The two teams exchanged leads through the first 15 minutes, but once Jaime Pradilla drained a three-pointer to make it 35-32 with 4:17 remaining in the second quarter, Valencia remained in front the rest of the way. Pedro Martinez’s men are now 4-0 in games with a crowd at Roig Arena and 6-4 overall, whereas Real Madrid is 1-5 on the road and 5-5 on the season.
Omari Moore was Valencia’s leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Nate Reuvers and Darius Thompson with 14 points apiece. Real Madrid was led by Trey Lyles, who had 23 points in defeat. Facundo Campazzo chipped in 15 points for the visitors, Theo Maledon had 14, and Mario Hezonja poured in 11.
Paris Basketball 95-101 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
In a thriller that went down to the wire, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens edged Paris Basketball 95-101 at Accor Arena in the French capital in Round 10 on Tuesday. Panathinaikos improved to 6-4 in the standings and recorded its first-ever victory against Paris, which dropped to 4-6 and is on a four-game losing streak.
Kendrick Nunn led the winners with 20 points. Kenneth Faried added 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in his first EuroLeague game with the Greens. Konstantinos Mitoglou scored 15, TJ Shorts 13 and Kostas Sloukas 11 for Panathinaikos. Justin Robinson led Paris with 22 points. Nadir Hifi added 19 and Yakuba Ouattara had 11 for Paris, which led 84-79 early in the fourth quarter. Panathinaikos used a 3-12 run that Nunn capped with a corner triple to take an 87-91 lead. Juancho Hernangomez and Shorts took care of business in crunch time, leading Panathinaikos to an important road victory.
Wednesday, November 12
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:15 CET)
A big battle in Piraeus will see fourth-placed Olympiacos (6-3) attempt to overcome co-leader Zalgiris (7-2). The Lithuanian team made it four straight victories with last week’s triumph over Valencia, chiefly thanks to a stellar defense which has allowed just 68.5 points during that winning run. That defense will be chiefly tested by Sasha Vezenkov, who has scored at least 12 points in every game this season. Thomas Walkup also excelled in last week’s win over Partizan, scoring 15 points, and he will have a key role defensively against Zalgiris playmaker and league assists leader Sylvain Francisco (14.9 points and 6.8 assists per night). The paint promises a big battle between two of the league’s best big men, Nikola Milutinov (11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game) and Moses Wright (12.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg).
FC Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona (20:30 CET)
In-form Bayern (5-4) will seek a fourth straight win with a visit from Barcelona (5-4). The hosts will look for Andreas Obst (14 points per game) to repeat the sharpshooting that saw him set a league record by draining 11 triples in last season's meeting between the teams, while big man Wenyen Gabriel hopes for another strong performance after scoring 12 points in last week’s win at Paris. Barcelona needs to bounce back from last week’s Clásico loss to Real Madrid, and can again run its offense through Nico Laprovittola following his return from injury. Barca has the league’s second-best three-point conversion rate (41.1%), so the likes of Will Clyburn and Kevin Punter will hope to outshoot Obst and Isiaha Mike, who has multiple triples in four games straight.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:30 CET)
Milan (4-5) will look to build more momentum against an ASVEL team (2-7) which is desperately hoping to turn the corner. The injury-hit French team, which is still targeting a first road win of the season, can hope for more inspiration from center Armel Traore after his 18 points without a miss in last week’s loss at Fenerbahce. But ASVEL also needs others to step up and improve the league’s lowest scoring offense (77.2 points per game). Milan showed its spirit in a double overtime victory over Efes in Round 9, when Shavon Shields extended his record of double-digit scoring in every game with 24 points. Another plus was Zach LeDay’s return from injury, and he will look to dominate the frontcourt against an ASVEL team ranking next-to-last in rebounding (31.9 per night).