The Monegasque team’s 22 victories have set a new club record
Monaco ensured its best-ever regular-season campaign with Round 33 triumph
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Sometimes a good team doesn’t have to play well in order to win, or at least to its potential, and that was certainly the case for AS Monaco on Thursday evening.
Monaco notched its 22nd win from 33 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games this campaign, a new club high in the regular season, by defeating Zalgiris Kaunas 69-66 to rubber stamp its place in the playoffs.
Following a strong start to the game by Mike James and Donatas Motiejunas, who scored all 13 of Monaco’s points in a 13-4 start to the game, the hosts rarely got out of second gear the rest of the way. Motiejunas, who came through at Zalgiris, later scored back-to-back baskets inside to effectively wrap up the win with less than 90 seconds to go, 69-60.
There was the potential for some late drama when Zalgiris cut the gap to four points, 69-65, with 16 seconds left and then three, 69-66, with five seconds on the clock, but it was too little, too late for the Lithuanian side. Poor shooting from three-point range ended up proving costly, with Zalgiris being 4 for 24 from deep (16.7% 3FG) early in the fourth quarter before finishing 7 of 29 (24.1% 3FG).
The winning plays of Blossomgame, Brown
For a team like Monaco, which has players who can turn it on at any moment, games like its Round 33 contest with Zalgiris often require the unsung heroes to step up. Fortunately for head coach Sasa Obradovic, he can rely on Jaron Blossomgame and John Brown to do the dirty business and the things that don’t always show up on the stats sheet, with both players coming up big at various points on the night.
The likes of James, Jordan Loyd and Motiejunas are circled on the scouting report well in advance – that much is obvious – but dealing with the likes of Blossomgame and Brown requires a different approach, particularly as their motors never seem to slow down.
While Blossomgame had 10 points and 5 rebounds at the break, Brown made his biggest impact in the second half, drawing a couple of charges from Evans and swarming everywhere on the defensive end. Not only did those charges against Evans ruin Zalgiris’s offensive sets, but they put the star guard in a bit of foul bother – they were his second and fourth fouls – and it was yet more evidence of how he leaves his sweat and blood on the court every time he plays.
The fans in attendance at Salle Gaston Medecin are unlikely to be telling their children and grandchildren about Thursday evening’s game, but they did see their side set a new club record and make the playoffs. Monaco simply handled its business, just like a top team should.