Joventut Badalona cruised to its eighth victory in Group A by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 82-65 in Round 10. Joventut sealed the deal with an outstanding first half; it led 43-24 at halftime. 

Joventut's first-half defense makes the difference

Joventut held its opponents to just 5-of-17 shooting on two-point shots (29.4% 2FG) and 4-of-17 on three-pointers (23.5% 3FG), while pulling down 19 defensive rebounds and only allowing Trento to get 5 offensive boards. Despite missing its last three shots inside the arc, Joventut made 14 of 21 two-point attempts (66.7% 2FG) before the break. The teams' PIR at halftime said it all: Joventut had 61 and Trento was limited to just 18. 

Joventut relies on its frontcourt

Ante Tomic had 10 points and 5 assists, while Derek Willis and Simon Birgander each got 6 points. The four players combined for 41 points, half of Joventut's score in this game. At halftime, Tomic, Brodziansky, Willis and Birgander combined for 21 points on 10-of-14 two-point shooting (71.4%) as Joventut amassed 11 assists before the break.

Ante Tomic - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21

Partizan played good defense on Hamburg’s shooters, who made just 13 of 39 three-pointers (33.3%). The guests also committed 18 turnovers - after having committed the fewest coming into the game at just 11.7. 

Telling numbers: Hamburg misses triples, turns ball over

Hamburg managed to grab 22 offensive rebounds, but the visitors watched Partizan collect 13 offensive rebounds and win the second-chance points category 24-18. Partizan also converted 76.3% of its two-pointers - the second-best percentage in club history behind only the 76.9% Partizan made against Hamburg in Round 1 earlier this season.

Partizan NIS Belgrade v Hamburg Towers (2022-01-18T19:45:00.000Z)

Rodions Kurucs - Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21

Partizan set a club record for most points in a half in a EuroCup game with its 65 points in the first 20 minutes. The team’s previous high was 62 in the Top 16 in 2019-20 against Virtus Bologna. The Serbians’ output was also close to the all-time EuroCup mark for points in a half. 

Partizan sets club record with first half

It was the third time a team has scored 65 points - most recently by Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade on December 12, 2018, against Germani Brescia Leonessa. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar holds the record with the 71 points it dropped on Telenet Giants Antwerp on November 4, 2020. The 102 points ranked second all-time for Partizan, bested only by the 106 points it scored against Hamburg in Round 1 this season.

Zach Leday - Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21

Partizan NIS Belgrade showed it means business by stopping the recent run of Hamburg Towers with a historic 102-77 win at home in Group A. Partizan set a club record for the most points in a half in surging to an 8-2 mark, including five wins in the last six games. Mathias Lessort led the way with 22 points and 5 steals for Partizan, which improved to 6-0 at home. 

Partizan drops 100 points on Hamburg for second time, 102-77

Zach LeDay chipped in 18 points and 8 rebounds while Kevin Punter scored 15 points and Balsa Koprivica added 13 points. EuroCup debutant Hamburg saw its three-game winning streak come to a close to fall to 4-6. Robin Christen scored a career-high 20 points for the German side while Caleb Homesley had 14 points and Ray McCallum finished with 11 points. 

Dallas Moore started the scoring for the hosts, who were ahead 6-0 before Homesley hit a three-pointer for Hamburg. A big LeDay dunk made it 11-3 and forced a Hamburg timeout. Maik Kotsar answered but Partizan did not slow down at all with Lessort scoring 7 points and Rodions Kurucs hitting from deep in a 16-3 run to lead 27-8. McCallum and Christen hit triples for Hamburg, but Punter added 4 points at the other end and Partizan led 34-14 after 10 minutes.

Christen started the second quarter with 2 free throws and he and Lukas Meisner added three-pointers for Hamburg with Homesley able to trim the gap to 43-28. Partizan just kept pouring it on: Aleksa Avramovic made a three-pointer, Leday converted an and-one, Lessort scored 4 points and LeDay added 2 three-pointers and the hosts led 65-41 at the break. 

Lessort scored the first 5 points of the second half to make sure that Hamburg didn’t start well for a 70-41 advantage. Max DiLeo made a three-pointer for the visitors, but LeDay countered with a three-point play and Punter drained a triple as the cushion swelled to 80-46. Kurucs pushed the gap to 83-48 and Partizan led 85-53 after 30 minutes.

Kurucs began the final frame with a three-pointer for the hosts, but Partizan took the foot off the gas. Hamburg tried to make the final result more respectable with Christen burying 2 three-pointers and getting a put-back to make it 90-62. Hamburg added 2 more triples and Partizan boss Zeljko Obradovic called a timeout with his team up 92-68 with less than 4 minutes remaining. By then the game had long been decided. 

Mathias Lessort - Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21

This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Post-Game Quotes: Partizan 102-77 Hamburg


### Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan NIS Belgrade
“Before the game, we talked that they are a very dangerous team. They have their own way to play basketball. It was exactly like that tonight. They shot a lot of three-point shots - 39; offensive rebounds were 22; but it’s true that we played a very good game. We controlled the game and I need to congratulate my players for really a very good performance. I also want to congratulate [Hamburg]. Even though they were down 30 points, they tried to fight until the end. This means it’s a team that has character. And they played how they played the last games in the German League and EuroCup.”



### Pedro Calles, Hamburg Towers
“Congratulations to Partizan for a well-deserved win. It was an extremely good performance from them. To my players, to my team, to my organization: learn from this experience because it was really nice to see an opponent like Partizan play basketball like that.”



### Mathias Lessort, Partizan NIS Belgrade
“It was a big victory, very important. It was important to step up our game after let’s say not such a good game against Podgorica. We made up for it and had a very serious game. We could have done better, especially on offensive rebounds. But I think all together it was a good team game. I feel great. The fans gave us a lot of energy from the jump. This atmosphere is great here when the gym is rocking like that. It’s easier for us to run, to jump, to play with energy. You could see that everybody had energy tonight.”


Caleb Homesley - Hamburg Towers (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21

Newly-acquired center Mathias Lessort had an outstanding game in his second appearance for Partizan. After picking up 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 19 minutes against Dolomiti Energia Trento, the French big man was dominant against Hamburg. 

Lessort shines in second game

Lessort scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 4-of-5 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals and 1 block for a performance index rating of 33. He was 2 points off his career high and he set new personal bests in PIR and steals. All that came in just over 21 minutes of action.

Mathias Lessort 2- Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21

At age 32 and at the prime of his career, swingman Vytenis Lipkevicius is showing no signs of slowing down and proved it in Lietkabelis Panevezys's 88-65 victory against Slask Wroclaw. 

Lipkevicius shines again for Lietkabekis

Lipkevicius came off the bench and helped Lietkabelis in many ways, finishing the game with 16 points on near-perfect shooting; he made 2 of 2 two-pointers, 3 of 4 three-pointers and 3 of 3 free throws. He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal for a PIR of team-high 20. In his second EuroCup season with Lietkabelis, Lipkevicius is averaging 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists for a PIR average of 13.6. 

Lietkabelis Panevezys v Slask Wroclaw (2022-01-18T17:00:00.000Z)

Vytenis Lipkevicius - Lietkabelis Panevezys (photo Karolio Kavolelio - Lietkabelis) EC21

C.J Harris hit a three-pointer as time expired to lift Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse to a 78-81 road win over Umana Reyer Venice on Tuesday night at Palasport Taliercio. The visitors blew a 10-point lead, but survived after Harris broke the fourth tie of the fourth quarter to give Bourg the win. The result took Bourg’s record to 3-7 and dropped Reyer to 4-5. 

Harris’s buzzer-beater lifts Bourg to victory in Venice, 78-81

Harris finished with 19 points and 4 steals to pace the winners, Pierre Pelos added 13 points, Rasheed Sulaimon scored 12, JaCorey Williams 11 and Jalen Jones 10. Stefano Tonut led Reyer with career-highs of 22 points and 6 assists and Andrea De Nicolao added 10. 

Pelos opened the scoring with a baseline step-back jumper and foul. De Nicolao countered with a four-point play to get Reyer on the scoreboard. A three by Michael Bramos and put-back by Mitchell Watt gave the hosts control. De Nicolao and Alexandre Chassang traded threes as Bourg stayed close. Pelos’s layup drew the visitors within 14-12 after 5 minutes. The threes continued to fall with Axel Julien briefly giving Bourg the lead and Valerio Mazzola answering at the other end. The next three came from Tonut and put the hosts up 5. Sulaimon heated up for Bourg and his free throws made it 22-23 at the end of the quarter.

Williams scored the first 3 points of the second quarter and Harris added a layup-plus-foul to cap a 0-12 Bourg run. Tarik Phillip revived Reyer with a three from the corner. Jones and Julyan Stone swapped threes before Martynas Echodas’s three-point play on the offensive glass drew the hosts within 31-32 midway through the quarter. Sulaimon scored and assisted Williams in a 0-6 Bourg run as the visitors rebuilt a 7-point margin. Despite a slam by Watt, Bourg continued to pad its lead with a three by Pelos and a jumper by Williams for a double-digit lead, 33-43. Tonut scored the last 4 points of the half to keep Reyer within striking distance at 39-45. 

Tonut and Bramos trimmed the deficit to 3 early in the second half and Bourg point guard Julien took a seat with 4 fouls. Harris hit back with a three for Bourg to lead 44-50. Jeff Brooks and Harris swapped long-range shots as the margin continued to float in the 3-6 point range. Sulaimon changed that with a three-pointer, but Tonut scored the next 5 points to keep Reyer in the mix. Echodas muscled his way to a basket-plus-foul on the offensive glass to make it 57-60. Jones scored the last 4 points of the third quarter to give the visitors a 57-64 lead.

Michele got on the scoreboard with a three to open the fourth quarter for Reyer and Mazzola made up for a turnover with a triple that made it 63-66. Vitali completed the comeback with a triple to make it 67-67 with 6:37 remaining. After a timeout, Vitali buried free throws to give the hosts their first lead Since the first quarter. Vitali fouled out less than 3 minutes later and Maxime Courby split the resulting free throws to even things at 71-71. After Echodas hit a foul-line jumper, Jones countered with a three for a 73-74 Bourg lead. It was tied at 76-76 with a minute to go after a three by De Nicolao. Julien broke the tie for Bourg with a floater with 43.7 seconds to go. Tonut tied it with a jumper with 10.8 seconds left, but there was enough time left for Bourg, which won it on a buzzer-beater by Harris. 

Umana Reyer Venice v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2022-01-18T19:00:00.000Z)

Rasheed Sulaimon - Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (photo Alessandro Scarpa - Reyer) - EC21